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When Senator Debbie Stabenow announced her resignation last week, Michigan Democrats were scrambling within hours to find a candidate who could win in a state Joe Biden held by less than three points in 2020.
In the hours and days that followed, many prominent Democrats from the state of Great Lakes withdrew their candidacy. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan have all said they have no interest.
But according to three Democratic campaign strategists involved in early discussions, two Democrats have quickly emerged as favorites for the nomination: Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.
“My feeling with Elissa was probably at its boldest without announcing it, and I think she’s going to draw a lot of attention in and out of state,” one of Wolverine State’s strategists told The Daily Beast.
Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow will not run again in 2024
While Slotkin is already considering a run, according to a Democratic source familiar with internal discussions, McMorrow has also been taking calls from supporters to step in. But she hasn’t made a decision, according to another staffer involved in the talks.
McMorrow used a viral speech to lead a $2.35 million fundraiser for state Senate campaigns, which has seen Democrats flip the chamber for the first time since 1984.
While Whitmer and Buttigieg would be instant favorites for the Democrats’ nomination, neither of them is expected to change their minds, according to two sources in contact with their staffers.
“It would be a descent for both of them in a way, and I can’t see why a governor would run for the US Senate,” another Democratic activist told The Daily Beast.
Another Democratic strategist recalled a story from Whitmer’s inner circle in which a top aide said Slotkin was “too smart to run for Congress.” The underhanded compliment was indeed taken as praise by some in the room, but also by others as a dig that the congresswoman and former CIA analyst would have trouble connecting with the national electorate.
The story goes on
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Joceyln Benson were also mentioned by campaign advisers as possible candidates, with Wolverine State’s first agent saying Benson was the more likely of the two to step in.
Aside from Slotkin, Rep. Haley Stevens is thought to be the other most likely Presenter to run in the race – so much so that someone bought a pair of Senate-related domain pages on Jan. 9 under “Haley for Senate.”
On the GOP side, the picture is much murkier.
Many options are available to Democrats, but most of the GOP chatter following Stabenow’s resignation immediately turned to Rep. John James, the newly sworn GOP congressman who lost Senate bids in both 2018 and 2020.
Can’t vote for Trump. Or Biden. Justin Amash, here I come!
Other names in the mix include former MP Peter Meijer, one of the 10 impeachment votes against Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 riot. Meijer subsequently lost his 2022 re-election bid in a key challenge from a Trump-backed candidate. Tudor Dixon, the DeVos family-backed GOP challenger who lost to Whitmer for governor in 2022, is also considered a possibility.
“Democrats have a deep, deep bank in Michigan, and it’s full of stars,” said one of the Democratic advisers. “Republicans have the opposite problem, and the fact that the first name that came out of people’s mouths was John James proves that.”
A wild card hanging over the race is former Republican-turned-independent-turned-libertarian: Justin Amash. Amash left Congress in 2021, handing over his seat to Meijer. But the conservative lawmaker, who personally despised Donald Trump and left the GOP over the party’s hardline turn on MAGA politics, could receive votes from both Democrats and Republicans if he chooses to run.
A source close to Amash told The Daily Beast Thursday night that he was seriously considering the Senate race and considering how he would run. Michigan laws make it difficult for anyone outside of either party to win, so Amash could end up running for the Republican nomination. But he has also considered running as an independent or maybe just serving in the Senate as an independent if elected.
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