Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s decision to end her campaign for Senate sets up a fierce contest between the Democratic Party’s establishment and progressive wings with about a month to go until the primary.
“I haven’t been shy about calling for new leadership and a better Democratic Party. I mean it.” McMorrow said in a Sunday video announcing her exit from the race. “The energy is there. People are crying out for change. And we owe it to them to listen. Then we need to build it up, together, from the ground up.”
Now, next month’s Democratic primary for an open Senate seat that is expected to be among the most competitive in the nation this fall, has become a two-way contest between Rep. Haley Stevens, who has the backing of Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, and Abdul El-Sayed, a former local public health official who last week nabbed an endorsement from New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Recent surveys have shown El-Sayed leading the race with Stevens in second, although both sides are expected to contest fiercely for McMorrow’s supporters. McMorrow had presented herself as ideologically in between Stevens and El-Sayed.
The winner of the Aug. 4 primary will face off against former Rep. Mike Rogers, who narrowly lost the 2024 Senate race but has consolidated Republican support behind his campaign to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
