In late January, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who ran the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for the 2022 and 2024 cycles announced that he would not seek reelection. Many other Democrats, including from other key swing states, have since announced they will also be retiring. There's been Democrats who have made clear they won't run for Peters' seat, like former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, though plenty of have thrown their hat into the ring. Earlier this week, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens announced that she is running for Peters' seat.
Stevens' pinned post to her X account, from Tuesday, is a nearly two-minute video announcement. Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat who ran for governor in Michigan, is also running, as is state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.
The video promotes her connection to former President Barack Obama, while criticizing President Donald Trump, who won her state in 2016 and 2024. "But Donald Trump has a much different plan for Michigan," she warned, going for even more fearmongering, including and especially when it comes to his "chaos" and on tariffs.
The congresswoman went on to lament higher prices. It's of course also reminding, though, that higher prices were a considerable concern when President Joe Biden was in office, as she then went after Trump and Elon Musk for more "chaos."
It’s official, Michigan. I’m running to be your next United States senator.
— Haley Stevens (@HaleyforMI) April 22, 2025
Michiganders are the hardest working people I know. We built this country and the middle class, and I’m running to have their backs in Washington. Let’s get to work. pic.twitter.com/89TmfCZXl0
Readers may remember Stevens, who was first elected in the 2018 midterms, for her particularly unhinged rant on the House floor in March 2020. Wearing pink latex gloves, she engaged in a mostly incomprehensible rant as Congress had been debate a COVID-19 relief bill. Stevens exceeded her allotted time, even after then House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) was kind enough to yield to her, and she was ruled out of order.
Speaking of which… Remember this gem?
— Anna Hoffman (@shoesonplease) April 10, 2025
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Affirmations Community Center, Michigan) during the pandemic: 🤡 pic.twitter.com/6ZsPlAhRFZ https://t.co/DaZ6kfMrvf
During his Wednesday show of "The Tony Kinnett," host Tony Kinnett showed the resurfaced clip on air, when he was also mocking Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) for her appearance this week on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and former Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), who was just recently elected as mayor of Oakland, as well as former First Lady Michelle Obama for her recent comments on her podcast about black women.
Kinnet compared Stevens' "screeching" to that of "a cat who someone dropped a car battery on." In playing the clip to mock Stevens, he also expressed that "I really would like to see them use the Sergeant-at-Arms a little bit more in booting some of these fools out."
As for which Republicans are running, former Rep. Mike Rogers, who only lost to now Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin by 0.3 percentage points last November, announced earlier this month that he is running once more. Rogers made his video heavily about working with Trump.
Many of the forecasters which have weighed in on the race thus far have rated the 2026 U.S. Senate race out of Michigan a "Toss-Up."
President Trump needs strong allies in the Senate to help him deliver on the mandate given by the American people.
— Mike Rogers (@MikeRogersForMI) April 14, 2025
That means bringing manufacturing jobs back to Michigan, protecting seniors’ social security, lowering the costs of gas, groceries & prescription drugs, and… pic.twitter.com/MBNn5gcZ4t