MICHIGAN — With the retirement of Senator Gary Peters after two terms in office, Democrats across the state and political spectrum are lining up in hopes of becoming the next Senator from the Mitten State.
To date, four candidates have declared their intention to run for the seat while only one Republican, 2024 statewide loser to Senator Stotkin Mike Rogers, has announced. With a wide array of candidates, voters in the primary will have a lot of options. Large primaries are increasingly rare as big donors and party committees have sought to ‘clear the field’ in elections.
Who Is Running?
The field for the Democrats includes two members of the Michigan Legislature, a member of Congress and a one-time candidate for governor.
Bios pulled from candidate websites
Mallory McMorrow
Mallory was raised with the small-town values she lives by today. Her front door was never locked, and kids from the neighborhood were always welcome to grab a snack, stay for dinner, or spend the night. Her mother worked full time, raised four kids and cared for her grandmother, who moved in when she was stricken with multiple sclerosis. The definition of hard work and selfless service, Mallory’s mom still found time to bring the community together for an annual town-wide yard sale and take Mallory and her siblings to volunteer at the local soup kitchen.
Following in her mother’s footsteps, at 12 years old, Mallory got her first job serving coffee at BINGO night at the local volunteer firehouse. By 16, she was a manager at a local family-run grocery store. She worked as a bartender and in various jobs on campus as she earned her degree from the University of Notre Dame, where she was nicknamed “car girl” by her classmates and in her senior year won an international car design competition. But when she graduated in the middle of the Great Recession of 2008 with no healthcare, no job prospects, and student loans coming due, Mallory went from designing cars to spending a few nights sleeping in the backseat of one as she tried to land on her feet.
Refusing to give up, Mallory became an industrial designer, creative director, and small business owner, working on concepts for everything from cars to Hot Wheels to documentary films to commercials, live events, and branding for local businesses. She never planned to enter the political arena, but fed up after the 2016 election – and driven by a belief that politics should be about service, not self-interest – she googled, “how to run for office.” Through sheer determination, she inspired hundreds of local volunteers to help her swing a Republican-held state Senate seat by 20 points, flipping a district that included Mitt Romney’s home town.
When a right-wing state senator baselessly referred to Mallory as a “groomer” in a fundraising email, she took to the floor of the Michigan state Senate and, in a now-viral speech, she memorably declared that, “we will not let hate win.” The speech showcased her courage and moral clarity, leading James Carville to say “I’d show this tape as an instructional video,” and the New York Times to label her “one of the Democratic Party’s most promising young talents.”
She used her newfound platform to help flip control of the Michigan Senate for the first time in 40 years, then she got to work: strengthening unions and raising wages, getting rid of the retirement tax on seniors, expanding civil rights, repealing the state’s 1931 abortion ban, banning child marriage, tackling gun violence, expanding affordable housing, feeding kids in schools, and so much more.
Mallory will bring that same determination to deliver for Michigan families to the U.S. Senate.
She and her husband Ray were married in Detroit’s Eastern Market. Along with their young daughter and rescue dog, they’re proud to call Royal Oak home.
Haley Stevens
Haley was born and raised in Oakland County, Michigan. Growing up, her parents owned a landscaping business in Macomb County where they planted, landscaped, and plowed snow in the winter. Later in life, her dad went back to being a first grade teacher, but even at 80, her family still jokes that he wakes up at the sound of snow. Haley’s parents were always building things, and from a young age, her experience around heavy machinery, her parents’ small business, and her community taught her the value of hard work – a value every Michigander shares.
That value has guided Haley’s entire life and career. She served as Chief of Staff on President Obama’s auto rescue and was the only Michigander on the team. Day in and day out, Haley visited manufacturing floors and auto communities and eventually brought workers, corporations, and union leadership to the same table to stabilize the auto industry and save 200,000 Michigan jobs.
Haley’s work – whether during the auto rescue or afterwards in the private sector – regularly took her to manufacturing plants and facilities, leading her to create one of the first online job-training programs for digital manufacturing.
Just as she stepped up during the auto rescue, Haley stepped up to represent Michigan in the House of Representatives in 2018 and won – flipping an open seat that was previously held by the Republican party. Since then, Haley’s fought for Michigan’s manufacturing and auto-industries in the halls of Congress. One of the proudest days of her life was when the CHIPs and Science Act – a bill she helped write – was signed into law to bring America’s semiconductor industry back to where it belongs: Michigan.
Haley has also launched classes to teach digital manufacturing skills to middle and high school kids and voted to expand job training programs and apprenticeship programs for students – because she knows that while college isn’t for everyone, good-paying jobs should be. During her time in office, she has visited and met with workers at over 200 manufacturing businesses as part of a program she calls “Manufacturing Mondays.”
She also wrote legislation to make sure Black-owned businesses have access to the capital, business networks, and supply chains they need to succeed, and was instrumental in passing legislation to make sure every student can access a quality STEM education. And while Donald Trump and his billionaire buddy Elon Musk wreak havoc on our economy and threaten Michanders’ savings and retirements, Haley wrote legislation to make sure taxpayers’ private financial information is protected from Musk.
Now, Haley’s running for Senate to continue to fight for Michiganders and our economy while standing up to the Trump-Musk chaos agenda. When elected, she will fight to lower costs, protect the benefits that Michiganders paid into and earned over a lifetime of work, and defend our personal freedoms.
Abdul El-Sayed
He studied to be a doctor — but realized it was our broken politics that was making people sick. Abdul has dedicated his entire career to building government agencies that actually work for Michiganders. He is running for the U.S. Senate because he believes life in America shouldn’t be this hard, and as your Senator, Abdul will fight to build a government that works for you, not Elon Musk, Donald Trump, or their billionaire friends.
Abdul is running for U.S. Senate because life in Michigan shouldn’t be this hard — or this expensive. After a successful career of making government work for Michiganders, he wants to take his vision to Washington and make the United States Senate work for you.
Abdul rebuilt a government agency to make it actually work — and then he did it again. He rebuilt Detroit’s Health Department after bankruptcy. Then he restructured Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human & Veterans Services, serving 1.8 million Michiganders in the state’s largest and most diverse county. As a public servant, Abdul secured free glasses for kids who needed them, removed lead from Detroit’s elementary schools, took on Michigan’s biggest polluters, and made life-saving Narcan universally accessible. He also spearheaded a program that will cancel up to $700 million in medical debt for 300,000 Michiganders over 2 years. His work earned him recognition as “Public Official of the Year” by the Michigan LCV and a spot on Crain’s Detroit Business 40 Under 40 list.
Recognized nationwide as an expert on improving the American healthcare system, Abdul authored Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide, which explains how to build a healthcare system that guarantees high-quality, affordable healthcare for every American. In 2020, he was selected to serve on President Biden’s Unity Task Force for Healthcare, helping craft policies that are lowering prescription drug prices today.
He was born and raised in Southeast Michigan and proudly attended public schools where he captained his high school football, wrestling, and lacrosse teams. Abdul was raised by his father, Mohamed, an Egyptian immigrant, and his stepmom, Jackie, whose family has lived in Gratiot County, Michigan, since the 1800s. He graduated from the University of Michigan with the highest distinction and played on the Wolverines men’s lacrosse team. Abdul earned his medical degree from Columbia University on an NIH-funded fellowship and a second doctorate at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
Abdul lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Sarah, and their two brilliant young daughters, Emmalee and Serene. He’s been a card-carrying union member of AFT Local 477 and 6244, SEIU Local 500, the National Writers Union, and the AAUP.
Joe Tate
Joe got involved in athletics in high school and had coaches who went above and beyond. This led him to play football at Michigan State University, where he captained the football team and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors.
After spending two years in the NFL, Joe volunteered for his country and was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He deployed twice to Afghanistan, first as a Platoon Commander and then as a Company Executive Officer, overseeing the day-to-day operations of hundreds of Marines and Sailors.
After returning home to Michigan, Joe graduated with a dual MBA and MS in Environmental Policy and Planning from the University of Michigan.
He ran for State Representative and was elected by his colleagues to become the first Black Speaker of the House in Michigan history.
Despite just a one-vote majority, Speaker Tate spearheaded the passage of key progressive legislation, including:
- Repealing Michigan’s abortion ban.
- Passing the largest increase in education funding in state history.
- Passing universal background checks and red flag laws.
- Increasing the working family tax credit.
- Repealing the regressive retirement tax on seniors.
- Provided free school lunches to every student in Michigan.
