Former State Representative and candidate for Michigan’s 38th District Senate seat, Sara Cambensy, officially turned in her nominating petition signatures today.
Cambensy traveled to the Secretary of State’s office in Lansing and submitted 2,349 signatures in order to be on the November 3rd, 2026 general election ballot as an Independent candidate.
Democrat and Republican candidates running for the seat have the option to either collect a minimum of 1,000 signatures for state senate races, or pay $100 to be on the ballot. All partisan candidates in the race chose to pay the $100 filing fee. Independent or non-party affiliated candidates only have the option to turn in signatures, and their minimum amount is 1,500.
“If anyone wonders why they don’t see more candidates running as Independents, this is why. Clearing the signature hurdle is an enormous barrier for entry into state races, and not having the same option to pay a small fee like democrats and republicans do keeps most people from even trying.”
Spending the last 102 days collecting enough signatures wasn’t easy. However, Cambensy said she is grateful for the time it allowed her to get out and talk to people about the issues they’re facing and the work they want their state Senator to do.
“People are tired of the negative political divide in our state and nation right now. They’ve had it with the finger pointing and blame-game. It’s destroying lifelong friendships, families, and holding our true potential for success in our local communities, state, and nation back. They simply want elected officials to get stuff done. Nothing that impacts their day-to-day lives in terms of housing, healthcare, education, tax burdens, water/sewer rates, energy costs is getting resolved. They’re extremely frustrated.”
Cambensy added that U.P. residents feel the 2-party system cares more about keeping or gaining political power than they do about making life affordable for the people they represent. She added that this is exactly why so many people no longer identify with either major party and are coming back to the middle.
“That vast majority of people, especially in the U.P., no longer vote straight ticket. They’re disenfranchised with the way both parties now operate, constantly slinging mud instead of talking about the issues. They are looking for an alternative. People want someone who works for them, who represents their district, not a party platform that uses fringe issues to rile up their base and divide us. They desperately want common sense back in government. As an Independent who has no party to please and only the people to work for, I’m excited to be able to get out there and hit the campaign trail to focus on the issues.”
Born and raised in the U.P., Cambensy served as a state representative in Michigan’s 109th district for 3 terms, from 2017-2022. Prior to that, she served 10 years in local government as a city commissioner, charter commissioner, and planning commissioner for the city of Marquette. Cambensy was also the Director of Adult and Community Education for the Marquette Area Public Schools prior to entering state office.
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