2026 Champion of Liberty Senate Report Card
The Rescue Michigan Coalition presents our "Champion of Liberty" Senate Report Card surveying their votes on key issues in the term beginning in January 2025 through June 2026.
We call it the "Champion of Liberty" Report Card because we intentionally selected votes that were not unanimous or partisan. It would have been easy to pick a bunch of partisan votes and make every Republican look good. But by selecting votes on special interest deals and taxpayer subsidies where both parties' leadership was on board, we find only a few standouts.
Read on the for votes scored. To skip down to the results, click here.
For the State House click here.
Senate Votes Scored
SB 34: Allow lawsuits for discrimination based on “lactating status”
Michigan's civil rights law is a wellspring of capricious and malevolent lawsuit abuse. It be pared back, not expanded – not for hair style (as the legislature did in 2023), and not for pregnancy or "lactating status."
SB 5: New law to impose price controls on drugs and cause shortages
Price controls always cause shortages. To deny this fact is economic illiteracy. This is true of everything from drug price restrictions to rent controls. Here is an article, if you need the help.
SB 130: Increase cosmetology licensing fees
Licensing fees are a means to suppress competition and raise prices for consumers. As it is, Michigan has odious restrictions on cosmetologists. See this article for more information.
SB 394: Regulate and impose permitting on “carbon sequestration projects” – more red tape.
SB 579: Extend sunset on various environmental fees – Another $7.6 million in fees annually.
SB 182: Spend $71 million for food stamps and food banks – or maybe let taxpayers keep their own money and donate to charity as they see fit?
SB 199: Extend City of Lansing state taxpayer subsidy scheme from 2039 to 2059
Tax increment financing authorities effectively capture increases in tax revenue. These special interest deals don't work. More info here.
SB 267: Create a “Michigan-African-Caribbean trade commission”
SB 721: Extend a sunset on a special interest deal
SB 729: Increase cap on state building authority bonds by another $421 million
SB 451: Ban credit reports from including medical debt data
The government has no authority to ban entities from circulating this information.
SB 698: Revise campaign finance reporting deadlines and criminalize missing deadlines
The goal of this proposal is to intimidate ordinary citizens from running for office.
SB 553: Expand usage of “tax increment financing” schemes
SB 898: Create another corporate welfare special interest deal
SB 966: Create “low income housing” taxpayer subsidy – wealth redistribution.
HB 6043: Spend money on and make permanent “MI Tri-Share” workplace daycare subsidy
This program was created during Covid to help retain employees. The government (i.e. taxpayers) pay a third and employers pay a third of daycare costs (so, the taxpayers pay 2/3 when the employer is itself the government). Families can make up to $128,000 and be eligible for this taxpayer subsidy.
HB 4063: Unconstitutionally restrict the speech of former executive branch officers
The First Amendment applies to all Americans, regardless of whether they served in the legislature or executive branch at any point in the past. "Lobbying" is simply the act of advocating for legislation. This bill (and HB 4062 and 4064) should all be struck down as unconstitutional.
SB 81: Expand duty of indigent defense commission to include juveniles
Nearly all children would be considered "indigent" under this bill and effectively taxpayers would be responsible for covering the legal fees of juvenile criminals.
HB 5630 and SB 878: Annual budget bills (education and everything else, respectively)
The new state budget's increases are not sustainable. (See here for more information.) The media falsely claimed the budget contained billions in cuts when it did not – it simply omitted federal dollars from the calculated totals. It was, on balance, another outrageous continuation of the radical spending increases from the Covid era.
Scores: (move mouse over column headings for bill descriptions)
| District, Name, Party | 34 | 5 | 130 | 394 | 579 | 182 | 199 | 267 | 721 | 729 | 451 | 698 | 553 | 898 | 966 | 6043 | 4063 | 81 | 5630 | 878 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erika Geiss (D) | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 1 | ||
| 2 | Sylvia Santana (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 | |||||
| 3 | Stephanie Chang (D) | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 1 |
| 4 | Darrin Camilleri (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| 5 | Dayna Polehanki (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| 6 | Mary Cavanagh (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| 7 | Jeremy Moss (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| 8 | Mallory McMorrow (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 | |
| 9 | Michael Webber (R) | Y | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 2 |
| 10 | Paul Wojno (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| 11 | Veronica Klinefelt (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 1 |
| 12 | Kevin Hertel (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| 13 | Rosemary Bayer (D) | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 1 |
| 14 | Sue Shink (D) | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 2 |
| District, Name, Party | 34 | 5 | 130 | 394 | 579 | 182 | 199 | 267 | 721 | 729 | 451 | 698 | 553 | 898 | 966 | 6043 | 4063 | 81 | 5630 | 878 | Total | |
| 15 | Jeff Irwin (D) | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 2 |
| 16 | Joe Bellino (R) | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | 17 |
| 17 | Jonathan Lindsey (R) | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | 17 |
| 18 | Thomas Albert (R) | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | 16 |
| 19 | Sean McCann (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| 20 | Aric Nesbitt (R) | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | 17 |
| 21 | Sara Anthony (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| 22 | Lana Theis (R) | N | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | 12 | |||
| 23 | Jim Runestad (R) | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | 12 | |||||||
| 24 | Ruth Johnson (R) | N | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | 12 | ||
| 25 | Dan Lauwers (R) | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | N | Y | Y | 7 | ||||||
| 26 | Kevin Daley (R) | N | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | 13 | |
| 27 | John Cherry (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| 28 | Sam Singh (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| 29 | Winnie Brinks (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 |
| District, Name, Party | 34 | 5 | 130 | 394 | 579 | 182 | 199 | 267 | 721 | 729 | 451 | 698 | 553 | 898 | 966 | 6043 | 4063 | 81 | 5630 | 878 | Total | |
| 30 | Mark Huizenga (R) | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 3 | |
| 31 | Roger Victory (R) | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | 8 | |
| 32 | Jon Bumstead (R) | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | 10 | ||||
| 33 | Rick Outman (R) | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | 12 | ||
| 34 | Roger Hauck (R) | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | 13 |
| 35 | Chedrick Greene (D) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 36 | Michele Hoitenga (R) | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | 18 | |
| 37 | John Damoose (R) | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 3 |
| 38 | Ed McBroom (R) | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | N | 8 | |||
