Republicans are still seeking candidates to run for the seat of Sen. Debbi Stabenow (D-MI) after her surprise retirement in January.
The party vowed to win the seat back after the announcement but no candidates have announced a run eight months later.
Michigan Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s surprise retirement announcement in January set off significant recruitment efforts on both sides of the aisle.https://t.co/3Ohl2nM5Jj
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 27, 2023
"On the GOP side, the candidate recruitment effort in the Wolverine State is still underway," the Washington Examiner reported.
"A source familiar with the NRSC’s strategy told the Washington Examiner that the committee has had conversations with five potential candidates: former Reps. Mike Rogers and Peter Meijer, New York Stock Exchange vice chairman John Tuttle, former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, and businessman Sandy Pensler, who came in second in the state’s 2018 GOP Senate primary," it added.
Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan will seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Debbie Stabenow in 2024, becoming the first high-profile candidate to jump into the battleground state race. https://t.co/qQSzGG3vBn
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) February 27, 2023
"Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan will seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Debbie Stabenow in 2024, becoming the first high-profile candidate to jump into the battleground state race," the Associated Press reported in February.
"In a video announcing her campaign, Slotkin says that the nation seems 'to be living crisis to crisis' but that there 'are certain things that should be really simple, like living a middle-class life in the state that invented the middle class,'" it added.
Hill Harper is officially running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Michiganhttps://t.co/LsZP9miha0
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 10, 2023
Actor Hill Harper announced a run in July. Harper is known as an actor for his role in "The Good Doctor" and is running on a progressive platform.
"We're in a state where I think the triple blue leadership in Lansing has done really hard work moving the state forward, but in Washington, D.C., it's still broken. And folks feel like it's still broken. And I'm one of them," Harper told The Detroit News.
"Without energized, bold leadership in the U.S. Senate, our state will continue to be held back from achieving its full potential. We deserve a better brand of politics than politics as usual, and that's why I'm running for the U.S. Senate," he continued.
The left appears ready to retain its power in the state but conservatives have yet to launch a strong candidate with the potential to win.
The concern also grows as the GOP presidential battles grows, with former President Donald Trump currently leading in polls by a wide margin.
