More Greens, Working Class Candidates Could Complicate Close Races
(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/21/2026) A larger-than-normal number of Green Party and Working Class Party candidates are running in November, including in several competitive congressional and legislative races where even 1% or 2% of the vote could prove consequential.
The Bureau of Elections lists 28 Green Party candidates and 19 Working Class Party candidates for executive and legislative office in 2026, more than in at least the last four gubernatorial elections and tied with 2006.
Doug Dern, chair of the Natural Law Party, said he couldn't get the exact number of candidates in his party that will be running until next week due to some errors in filings that he said will be ironed out soon.
No third-party candidate has been elected to Congress from Michigan or to the state Legislature since 1912, when former President Teddy Roosevelt's National Progressive Party carried 11 members into the state House and six members into the state Senate.
There's no evidence this will change in 2026, but it's possible that the presence of third-party candidates could influence the result of a close election between a Republican and a Democrat. The clearest example was in 2000, when Republican Mike Rogers won the then-8th Congressional District, beating Dianne Byrum by 111 votes.
Green Party nominee Bonnie Bucqueroux earned 3,467 votes, while Libertarian James Eyster received another 2,467 votes. Bucqueroux's vote total was more than 30 times Rogers' margin of victory.
Green Party congressional candidates in the last three elections have averaged 1.28% of the vote. But another party that would also presumably pull from the Democrats, the relatively new Working Class Party, has fared the best among all third parties. Their nominees between 2020 and 2024 have averaged 2.36% of the vote.
Meanwhile, U.S. Taxpayer Party congressional nominees – who, presumably, would be more conservative and may be more persuaded to vote for Republicans in a head-to-head choice – made up an average of 0.9% of the vote in every congressional race they participated in.
Where Libertarian votes would go isn't as cut-and-dried, since the party's social positions can overlap with Democrats while its fiscal positions tend to align more closely with Republicans. One study of the 2016 presidential election estimated that roughly half of minor-party voters would have stayed home without their preferred candidate.
Among Gary Johnson voters who still would have participated, about 60% would have backed Republican Donald Trump and 32% to 33% Democrat Hillary Clinton. Researchers cautioned against automatically applying those results to other elections.
Their influence in elections has dropped since 2010, and in the last three cycles, their congressional candidates have only managed an average of 1.48% of the vote.
This year:
1. The Green Party nominated Shafina Che Barnett in the 4th Congressional District, where Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo) is looking to unseat U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland) in what is expected to be a competitive race.
2. Democrat Will Lawrence, who has roots in the Democratic Socialist movement in Lansing, ironically, will be competing against candidates from parties philosophically left of the Democratic Party – Green Party and Working Class Party candidates.
However, the Green Party nominee is raising suspicions. Little was known about Shane Dedrick when he popped in on the Zoom call in which the Green Party held their nominating convention. With his camera off, Dedrick stepped forward to run in the 7th. After his offer was accepted, Green Party officials haven't heard from him, according to WLNS. Since then, it's been discovered that Dedrick gave $12 to Republican Perry Johnson's presidential campaign in 2023.
Green Party spokesperson Doug Marsh told WLNS that it's “equally likely” that Dedrick was planted by Republicans, or that he just changed his beliefs. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel chimed in to say that it raises “serious questions about potential Republican interference” in the race.
Outside of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte), the other candidate in the MI-7 race is Working Class Party nominee Felix Thibodeau, another potential draw away from Lawrence.
3. The open 10th Congressional District featuring Republican Michael Bouchard and Democrat Christina Hines features Green Party and Working Class Party candidates with one Libertarian in the mix, potentially giving Bouchard an advantage if the Green and Working Class nominees draw disproportionately from Hines.
4. In the 11th Congressional District, Democratic Party-nominated Wayne State University Governor Anil Kumar is running as an independent. While Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Bloomfield Twp.) would still be seen as the favorite, Kumar could draw some votes away from Moss.
5. The Working Class Party also has a nominee in the 9th Senate District, a small advantage for Sen. Michael Webber (R-Rochester Hills), who is facing a presumed competitive challenge from Democratic challenger Theresa Brooks.
6. Former Rep. Sara Cambensy is running in the 38th Senate District with Rep. Dave Prestin (R-Cedar River) the clear favorite after winning a bruising Republican primary. It's presumed she'd draw from Democrats after having served in the Legislature as a Democrat.
7. Deanna Martin initially filed to run as a Republican in the 68th House against Rep. David Martin (R-Davison), seemingly as a mistake. But now she's a Libertarian candidate, which could draw some support away from him in what may be a competitive race featuring Democrat Matt Schlinker.
