Former Michigan House Speaker seeks open spot in U.S. Senate

In the latest announcement in the race to succeed Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) as Michigan’s next U.S. Senator, former Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate has joined the ever-growing field of candidates. 

Tate, a Detroit Democrat who currently serves as a state representative for Michigan’s 9th House district, made his announcement on Sunday, which was first reported by Bloomberg.

“I’m running for Senate to lay a foundation for the next generation of Michiganders, one strong enough to protect the promise Michigan holds for every family,” Tate said in a video posted to social media on Monday.

Tate, a former NFL player who served two combat tours in Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine Corps officer, was Michigan’s first Black speaker of the House, leading the chamber during Democrat’s trifecta in Lansing from 2023 through the end of 2024. 

Under the leadership of Tate and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids), Democrats forged ahead on decades of pent-up policy priorities, repealing the state’s right to work laws, retirement tax and its 1931 abortion ban. Democrats also expanded the 1976 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to add protections against discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, set a 100% clean energy standard for 2040 and passed sweeping gun reforms, including universal background checks, safe storage requirements and a series of policies allowing for extreme risk protection orders, also known as red flag laws. 

However, Tate’s term as speaker ended on a sour note, as House Republicans walked off the floor, refusing to return unless Tate placed policies on road funding and policies looking to water down changes to the state’s minimum wage and sick leave laws on the agenda. 

While Democrats, who held a 56-54 majority, were able to continue holding votes, the chamber failed to reach a quorum for two days in a row, bringing the House to a sputtering halt. Unable to pass legislation, several bills including proposed bans on ghost guns and bump stocks, a host of bills to address racial disparities in maternal health and plans to subject the Legislature and the Governor to the state’s Freedom of Information Act, were left dead in the water. 

Tate has faced further criticism from both sides of the aisle, as nine bills passed by the Michigan Senate sit in limbo, after the House did not present them to the governor for her signature prior to the new Legislative session. Current House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has blamed Tate for failing to present the bills, with the impasse resulting in legal action from Brinks and the Senate.

Tate joins a Democratic field that already includes U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) and former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed. On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) launched another Senate bid, after an unsuccessful campaign in 2024, which he lost to now-U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) by just over 19,000 votes.