The board of trustees is composed of eight members who serve for staggered eight-year terms, with two seats up for grabs in November. 

Scott and Tebay Zemke, the longest-serving trustees on the board, both took office in January 2019. As members of the university’s governing body, they have overseen prolonged periods of strife at MSU and episodes of infighting on the board, including the aftermath of the Larry Nassar scandal and the years-long saga that ensued after Scott’s 2023 bombshell accusation that the then-board chair was engaging in widespread misconduct.

Scott is currently serving a one-year term as chair of the board, following Tebay Zemke’s stint as chair the previous year. The two are the “most tenured” at MSU and aim to “maintain the stability” with their reelection bids, Scott said. 

7,252 delegates filled the Huntington Place over the two-day Michigan Democratic Party convention to nominate candidates for a variety of statewide-elected posts including secretary of state, attorney general and trustees for MSU and the University of Michigan.

The endorsement of Tebay Zemke and Scott was initially delayed after the three candidates failed to gain enough signatures to earn the nomination. 

Tebay Zemke and Scott championed past initiatives meant to improve the university’s response to sexual assault survivors in the wake of the Nassar scandal and the maintenance of programs dedicated to inclusion.

They also touted their role in approving a December 2021 resolution that altered the collective bargaining process for university employees, which has resulted in the formation of three unions in five years, including the Union Tenure System Faculty in September. 

“We're looking to expand that,” Tebay Zemke said. “I want it to be 100% of our faculty and staff to be unionized.”

Santana had emphasized improving safety on MSU’s campus and nipping the student-housing problem in the bud. She also criticized the board’s decision to increase housing and dining rates by 5% for the 2026-27 academic year. 

Santana’s interest in the board was evident before she announced her candidacy. In 2024, she defended then-chair Rema Vassar after the board voted to censure her in response to an outside investigation that corroborated many of Scott’s allegations against her.

Tebay Zemke told The State News that MSU is in a “much better place” than when she and Scott were first elected to the board in 2018, but said there is still work to be done.

“We want to be a part of that,” Tebay Zemke said. “We want to stick with our president. We want to support (MSU President) Kevin (Guskiewicz), we want to support our students and our faculty and staff. We’e not done yet. We have unfinished business.”

Tebay Zemke and Scott will face Republicans Julie Maday and state Sen. Roger Victory, R-Georgetown Township, in the November general election.