# Michigan's 26th Senate district

Michigan's 26th Senate district is one of 38 districts in the Michigan Senate. The 26th district was created by the 1850 Michigan Constitution, as the 1835 constitution only permitted a maximum of eight senate districts. It has been represented by Republican Kevin Daley since 2023, succeeding fellow Republican Aric Nesbitt.

## Geography

District 26 encompasses parts of Genesee, Lapeer, Saginaw, and Tuscola counties.

### 2011 Apportionment Plan

District 26, as dictated by the 2011 Apportionment Plan, stretched along the Lake Michigan coast in Allegan and Van Buren Counties and parts of Kent County. Communities within the district included Kentwood, South Haven, Hartford, Paw Paw, Allegan, Otsego, Plainwell, Wayland, Antwerp Township, Gaines Township, and southern Holland.
The district was located largely within Michigan's 6th congressional district, also extending into the 2nd and 3rd districts. It overlapped with the 66th, 72nd, and 80th districts of the Michigan House of Representatives.

## List of senators

| Senator | Party | Dates | Residence | Notes |
| Amos Gould | Democratic | 1853–1854 | Owosso | |
| Charles P. Bush | Democratic | 1855–1856 | Lansing | |
| Omar D. Conger | Republican | 1857–1860 | Port Huron | |
| Ezra Hazen | Republican | 1861–1862 | Dryden | |
| John Merritt Lamb Sr. | Republican | 1863–1864 | Memphis | |
| William R. Nims | Republican | 1865–1866 | Lexington | |
| David Jerome | Republican | 1867–1868 | Saginaw | |
| Alfred B. Wood | Republican | 1869–1872 | East Saginaw | |
| Ralph Ely | Republican | 1873–1874 | Alma | |
| Isaac A. Fancher | Republican | 1875–1876 | Mount Pleasant | |
| Charles D. Nelson | Republican | 1877–1878 | Muskegon | |
| George A. Farr | Republican | 1879–1882 | Grand Haven | |
| Shubael F. White | Republican | 1883–1884 | Ludington | |
| Edward E. Edwards | Republican | 1885–1886 | Fremont | |
| Andrew Harshaw | Democratic | 1887–1890 | Alpena | Elected on a fusion ticket in 1886, backed by both the Democrats and the Greenback Party. |
| Charles A. Fridlender | Democratic | 1891–1892 | Oscoda | |
| Enoch T. Mugford | Democratic | 1893–1894 | Hart | |
| A. Oren Wheeler | Republican | 1895–1896 | Manistee | |
| James K. Flood | Republican | 1897–1900 | Hart | |
| Augustine W. Farr | Republican | 1901–1906 | Onekama | |
| Earl Fairbanks | Republican | 1907–1910 | Luther | |
| Charles E. Cartier | Republican | 1911–1912 | Ludington | |
| Samuel Odell | Republican | 1913–1916 | Shelby | |
| Charles W. Tufts | Republican | 1917–1922 | Ludington | |
| Orville E. Atwood | Republican | 1923–1926 | Newaygo | |
| Thomas Read | Republican | 1927–1928 | Shelby | |
| Orville E. Atwood | Republican | 1929–1930 | Newaygo | |
| Frank A. Smith | Republican | 1931–1932 | Luther | |
| George Cutler | Democratic | 1933–1934 | Luther | |
| Don VanderWerp | Republican | 1935–1956 | Fremont | |
| Lloyd A. Stephens | Republican | 1957–1964 | Scottville | |
| John T. Bowman | Democratic | 1965–1974 | Roseville | |
| Joseph M. Snyder | Democratic | 1975–1978 | St. Clair Shores | |
| Gilbert DiNello | Democratic | 1979–1992 | East Detroit | |
| Gilbert DiNello | Republican | 1992–1994 | East Detroit | |
| Mike Rogers | Republican | 1995–2000 | Howell | Resigned after elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. |
| Valde Garcia | Republican | 2001–2002 | St. Johns | |
| Deborah Cherry | Democratic | 2003–2010 | Burton | |
| Tonya Schuitmaker | Republican | 2011–2018 | Lawton | |
| Aric Nesbitt | Republican | 2019–2022 | Lawton | |
| Kevin Daley | Republican | 2023–present | Lum | |

## Recent election results
### 2018

2018 Michigan Senate election, District 26 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Aric Nesbitt | 16,529 | 51.1 |
| | Republican | Robert Genetski | 9,377 | 29.0 |
| | Republican | Don Wickstra | 6,443 | 19.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 32,349 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Republican | Aric Nesbitt | 61,509 | 56.7 |
| | Democratic | Garnet Lewis | 43,495 | 40.1 |
| | Libertarian | Erwin Haas | 2,375 | 2.2 |
| | Green | Robert Alway | 1,153 | 1.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 108,532 | 100 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2014

2014 Michigan Senate election, District 26 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Tonya Schuitmaker (incumbent) | 47,244 | 61.4 |
| | Democratic | Jim Walters | 26,782 | 34.8 |
| | Libertarian | William Wenzel | 2,944 | 3.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 76,970 | 100 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### Federal and statewide results

| Year | Office | Results |
| 2020 | President | Trump 55.0 – 43.1% |
| 2018 | Senate | James 54.8 – 42.9% |
| 2018 | Governor | Schuette 52.5 – 44.2% |
| 2016 | President | Trump 55.3 – 38.6% |
| 2014 | Senate | Land 52.8 – 42.3% |
| 2014 | Governor | Snyder 62.2 – 35.2% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 54.8 – 44.1% |
| 2012 | Senate | Hoekstra 50.4 – 46.3% |

## Historical district boundaries

| Description | Apportionment Plan |
| Macomb County (part) Chesterfield Township East Detroit Fraser Harrison Township Lake Township New Baltimore Roseville St. Clair Shores St. Clair County (part) Casco Township Ira Township New Baltimore | 1964 Apportionment Plan |
| Macomb County (part) Center Line East Detroit St. Clair Shores Warren (part) Wayne County (part) Grosse Pointe Woods (part) | 1972 Apportionment Plan |
| Macomb County (part) Clinton Township East Detroit Harrison Township Lake Township Mount Clemens St. Clair Shores | 1982 Apportionment Plan |
| Clinton County Livingston County Shiawassee County | 1992 Apportionment Plan |
| Genesee County (part) Atlas Township Burton Clio Davison Davison Township Forest Township Grand Blanc Grand Blanc Township Mount Morris Mount Morris Township Richfield Township Thetford Township Vienna Township Oakland County (part) Brandon Township Groveland Township Springfield Township Waterford Township | 2001 Apportionment Plan |
| Allegan County Kent County (part) Gaines Township Kentwood Van Buren County | 2011 Apportionment Plan |