A few candidates have already announced their bid for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat for the 2026 election.
Current U.S. Senator Gary Peters announced in January that he will not run for another term.
Here’s a list of the candidates running for Peters’ seat in the 2026 election:
Joe Tate (D)
Michigan state Rep. Joe Tate launched his campaign on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Tate spoke about his campaign goals and referenced his grandparents, who came to Detroit from Alabama as part of the Great Migration.
“I’m running for the U.S. Senate, because I want to continue to keep that promise that my grandparents came up to Michigan for,” he said.
Tate made history in 2022 when he became the first Black speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, the highest position in the chamber.
Read more here --> Lawmaker from Detroit joins crowded race for US Senate
Haley Stevens (D)
U.S. Representative Haley Stevens launched her run for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday.
Her campaign video focused on President Donald Trump’s recently imposed tariffs, saying “His chaos and reckless tariffs are putting tens of thousands of Michigan jobs at risk.”
Stevens has represented Michigan’s 11th congressional district since 2019.
If elected, she promises to “bring down costs for Michigan families, continue to boost Michigan’s manufacturing and auto industries, and stand up to the Trump-Musk chaos agenda.”
Read more here --> U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens enters race to represent Michigan in U.S. Senate
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (D)
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed announced his bid for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat.
The former Michigan health officer announced he is running for U.S. Senator on April 17, 2025.
“As I’ve spoken to Michiganders, one thing’s become clear: It’s just too hard to get by,” said El-Sayed. “But it doesn’t have to be. And to fix it, we need to break the chokehold that billionaires and oligarchs like Donald Trump and Elon Musk have on our politics and economy. It’s not just about what we’re fighting against -– it’s about what we fight for. Michiganders deserve an economy that works for them, guaranteed healthcare, clean air and water, and affordable housing. Just as I have in Detroit and Wayne County, I’m running to deliver government services that work for the rest of us.”
Read more here --> Abdul El-Sayed launches campaign for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat
Mallory McMorrow (D)
State Senator Mallory McMorrow hopes to go from the State Senate to the U.S. Senate.
On April 2, she announced that she was running for the open U.S. Senate seat.
“This was always on my mind. But I don’t think that many people anticipated Senator Peters’ announcement when it happened,” McMorrow said.
McMorrow stated that she plans to lay out a vision of The New American Dream to counter President Donald Trump’s slogan of Make America Great Again.
“This is going to be about ensuring you can afford to buy a house in the community where you want to live, that you can afford to send your kids to a great school, and that there are great parks,” said McMorrow. “I would be one of very few young parents in the U.S. Senate. So, I am thinking about universal paid leave, childcare, and safety for folks, ensuring that you have safe communities, your fundamental rights are protected, and that Michiganders won’t have to worry about the negative impacts of gun violence, which has been a significant issue for me during my time in the Legislature.”
Watch our interview here:
Read more here --> State Senator Mallory McMorrow announces run for US Senate seat in Michigan
Mike Rogers (R)
Mike Rogers launched his campaign for U.S. Senate in Michigan for the second time.
The former Republican U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 8th congressional district ran for U.S. Senate in 2024 but lost to U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin by a small margin.
Born and raised in Livingston County, Rogers’ goals, if elected, include “bringing manufacturing jobs back home, lowering the cost of gas, groceries, and prescription drugs, protecting seniors’ social security and Medicare, and setting our kids up for success by prioritizing education, not indoctrination.”
Watch our interview here:
Read more here --> Mike Rogers launches campaign for U.S. Senate in Michigan
