Haley Stevens endorses Elissa Slotkin for U.S. Senate

Washington — U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham endorsed fellow Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Lansing for the U.S. Senate Wednesday, becoming the first member of the Michigan congressional delegation to formally endorse in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

Stevens and Slotkin were both elected to the U.S. House in 2018, flipping their districts from Republican to Democrat. Since then, Stevens said, she has worked with Slotkin through the COVID-19 pandemic, competitive elections and the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

"I have seen firsthand her deep understanding of the economic needs of our state; she identifies problems and tackles them head-on," Stevens said in a statement. "Rep. Slotkin represents the best of our state, and no one is more prepared to lead."

Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter, a Democrat, and more than 30 other Oakland County officials also endorsed Slotkin on Wednesday, including six members of the Michigan Legislature and six county commissioners.

Slotkin was the first Democratic contender to launch a bid for Stabenow's Senate seat, which she'll be leaving at the end of 2024 to retire. She has also received endorsements from EMILY's list, a political action committee that supports female Democratic candidates, 14 labor unions, including the Laborers' International Union of North America and the Michigan chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Democratic veterans PAC VoteVets.

Former state Rep. Leslie Love of Detroit, Dearborn businessman Nasser Beydoun and attorney Zack Burns of Ann Arbor, and Michigan State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh of Saginaw are also running in the Democratic primary. The actor Hill Harper, who lives in Detroit, has also signaled he plans to get into the race.

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Four Republicans have also said they're running for the open seat: Romulus attorney Alexandria Taylor, former Berrien County Commissioner Ezra Scott, State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder of Dexter, and Michael Hoover of Laingsburg, formerly of Dow Chemical Co.

Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and top Pentagon official, has built a national fundraising network over her three competitive congressional races.

In 2022, her race against former Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett of Charlotte was one of the most expensive in the country. Her Senate campaign raised $3 million during the first fundraising quarter of the year, covering only a month of fundraising since the campaign launched.

Slotkin has said she is running for Senate to usher in "a new generation of leaders that thinks differently, works harder and never forgets that we are public servants."

In Congress, Slotkin has tried to cultivate an independent brand, joining the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and twice voting against California Democrat Nancy Pelosi for speaker of the House, though in January she voted for the current Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

rbeggin@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @rbeggin