Haley Stevens announces run for US Senate, becoming the 3rd Democrat seeking to replace Gary Peters

The field of Democrats seeking Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat next year has grown with the official announcement Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens that she is in the race with plans to fight what she called the “Trump-Musk chaos agenda.”

Stevens, a Birmingham Democrat who has represented the 11th District in Congress since first winning election in 2018, spoke to the Michigan Advance ahead of Tuesday’s formal announcement, saying her decision to run for Senate is centered on countering the actions of President Donald Trump and his ally, billionaire Elon Musk, that will have devastating consequences for Michiganders.

“We have people who are worried about their earned benefits because Elon Musk said that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme,” Stevens said. “I have veterans who are reaching out to me asking if they’re going to get that earned benefit check, and this is all coming at a time when costs are still going up and Trump and Musk are doing nothing to address rising costs.”

Stevens said her career has been defined by moments in which Michigan was in crisis, pointing to her role in the Obama administration as chief of staff to the federal auto bailout task force.

“When the auto industry was about to go belly up during the Great Recession, I stepped up to the plate to…help save over 200,000 Michigan jobs, and we now find ourselves at another moment of, frankly, crisis because of the chaos and uncertainty coming from the Trump Musk administration,” Stevens told the Advance, adding that those efforts have continued during her time in Congress. 

“I helped pass the Chips and Science Act when supply chain disruptions from COVID-19 were wreaking havoc on our automotive sector and automotive jobs. So, I’m putting up my hand in this moment to do what I have always done, which is stand up for the people of Michigan, let people know I have their back and that I am eager to be their champion in the United States Senate.” Stevens said.

Stevens is now the third Democrat to formally seek the opportunity to succeed U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.), who announced in January that he would not seek re-election. Peters had chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2024, which saw Democrats lose their majority. Republicans hold a 53-47 advantage this term and Michigan’s open Senate seat is considered a “must win” for both parties, with the National Republican Senatorial Committee listing it among their top three targets for 2026.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow was the first Democrat to announce, followed last week by former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed. Other potential candidates include former Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit). Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Grand Rapids).

On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) said last week he is once again a candidate for U.S. Senate. Other potential GOP candidates include U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Holland), state Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater), and former gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon.

Stevens is known as a prodigious fundraiser, having defeated fellow Democrat, former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, in the 2022 primary when redistricting placed them in the same district. The American Israel Political Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, spent heavily in support of Stevens in that race, and CNN reported earlier this month that the political action committee plans to do so again this year. Stevens also reported raising approximately $1.1 million in the first quarter of this year.

With a recent Gallup Poll finding that just 21% of Democrats expressed sympathies for Israel, while nearly 60% were sympathetic toward the Palestinians, the Advance asked Stevens if having the support of AIPAC would be a benefit or a liability at a time of increased dissension within the Democratic Party over support for Israel. 

“Let me be clear on where I am on this issue. I want to see the war in the Middle East end and I want to see the remaining hostages return home to their families. There are 59 hostages still in Gaza in tunnels, including one American. I am the co-chair of that hostage task force in the United States Congress given the work that I did to free Paul Whelan,” Stevens said, referencing the former U.S. Marine from Novi who was detained by Russia in 2019 and held until his release last August.

“I want to see an enduring cease-fire that will allow for true peace for the Palestinian people and for Israel, who is our strongest and closest ally in the Middle East,” she said.

Democrats have occupied both of Michigan’s U.S. Senate seats for the last 25 years, a task that was tested in 2024, when now-U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) narrowly defeated Mike Rogers for the seat opened up with the retirement of Debbie Stabenow. With Rogers back in the hunt to try and make the second time the charm for the GOP, Stevens says she is the candidate most qualified to defeat a Republican in 2026 and keep the Democratic lock on the state’s Senate seats.

“We all know that Mike Rogers sold out Michigan. He left the state of Michigan and I will always have Michigan’s back and I will not let people down. I win for Michigan and I have won tough races at the federal level before. I have a very unique and special expertise in manufacturing and in Michigan’s manufacturing economy and workforce,” Steven said, pointing to her Manufacturing Mondays program in which she visited manufacturers across her district on a weekly basis. 

“I bring those experiences back to Congress with me to pass and write legislation and this is also what led me to write legislation to make sure that Black-owned businesses have access to business networks and supply chains,” said Stevens.

While Stevens said that opposing the economic policies of the Trump administration she believes will harm Michiganders will be a top priority, she also knows that offering voters a positive vision for the state is a key element toward victory.

“I tell people all the time that as a four-term sitting member of Congress, I get to go to the U.S. House of Representatives and brag about Michigan. There is so much for us to champion in the halls of federal policymaking,” Stevens said. “I want to take the Michigan way into the United States Senate to get things done, yes for our state, but also for our country. I am currently looking at how we can win the future and how we will win the future from a place called Michigan.”