With Democrat Senator Debbie Stabenow retiring at the end of her term, the Michigan Senate primary race is shaping up to be a crowded field both for Democrats and Republicans, WKAR reported last month.
Senator Stabenow, who was first elected in 2000, announced in early January that she would not seek reelection in 2024 and would retire her seat in January 2025, giving Republicans a slim chance to wrest the seat away from the Democrats.
While no big-name Republican has announced a bid for Stabenow’s seat, the Democrat primary is already filling up.
Democrat politicians who quickly announced their plans to run for Stabenow’s seat include Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin, former Michigan state Rep. Leslie Love, Michigan State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh, attorney Zach Burns, and businessman Nasser Baydoun.
In mid-July, television actor Hill Harper announced that he was joining the crowded Democrat field.
In a video presented as a letter to his son, the former “CSI: New York” actor complained that it is “not freedom” that the US economy only “works for the richest” as vulnerable Americans must “work even harder to keep up.”
So far only three Republicans have filed papers to run in the GOP Senate primary, businessman Michael Hoover, attorney Alexandria Taylor, and state Board of Education member Nikki Snyder.
Former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers and former Detroit Police Chief James Craig are also considering entering the race.
With the Michigan Senate primary not taking place until August 6, 2024, it is expected that more candidates from both parties will jump in as well.
Oakland University political science professor David Dulio told WKAR that a crowded primary field might make it easier for little-known candidates to win since they won’t have to get a large plurality.
In her 2018 reelection, Senator Stabenow defeated Republican John James by 6 points, 52 percent to 46 percent.
