Rep. Donni Steele today slammed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for rushing a pair of special elections to fill two vacant seats in the Michigan House. The primary elections are set for Jan. 30 and the general elections are planned for April 16. The seats are open after two Democrats resigned to fill mayoral posts. The House is now evenly split 54-54 between Republicans and Democrats.

The governor announced her plan to fill the seats last Wednesday, only giving prospective candidates until 4 p.m. this Monday, Nov. 27, to file. Given the holiday weekend, interested residents had merely 12 business hours to file their intent to run with local clerks.

“The timeline laid out by the governor was clear political manipulation of the election process,” said Steele, R-Orion Township. “Voters in these communities deserved a fair and honest process. Instead, the governor found a new way to operate in the shadows. Potential candidates may have missed the filing opportunity while celebrating Thanksgiving with their families. This political gamesmanship continues to erode our democracy.”

Steele served on the Orion Township Board of Trustees for nine years before coming to the Legislature. She said empathizes with elected officials in these communities now facing the financial and administrative burden of managing two unexpected elections.

“Presidential election years are stressful and expensive enough as it is,” Steele said. “This plan ignores the immense stress faced by local officials. The governor could have easily used the existing election date in February. But instead, she is adding two new elections and forcing local clerks to play her political games.”

Steele also noted the hypocrisy of rushing special elections after Democrats ended the legislative session at the earliest date in 55 years. With the House evenly split, Steele and her Republican colleagues have been outspoken proponents of potential bipartisan work that needs to be done right now.

“Forcing special elections to take back a slim majority is a perfect depiction of the Democrats’ time in power,” Steele said. “Normal people just want their Legislators working and solving problems. Democrats would rather play political games and continue to cripple Michigan with their horrible policies.”

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