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- Actor Hill Harper joins race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow
- Democratic field includes U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Nasser Beydoun, Zack Burns, Leslie Love, Pamela Pugh
- State Board of Ed member Nikki Snyder among GOP candidates along with Michael Hoover, Alexandria Taylor
LANSING — Michigan U.S. Elissa Slotkin is getting some more competition as she seeks to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow in the 2024 election.
Hill Harper, an actor and attorney who lives in Detroit, joined the race Monday with a well-produced video that hints at his Hollywood connections.
“I believe our government should work for the people, be a force for good and protect our freedoms,” Harper said in the video announcement. “And that won’t happen if we keep electing the same type of people to office.”
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Harper joins a growing Democratic primary field that includes the sitting president of the State Board of Education, a former state lawmaker and Slotkin, who earlier Monday announced she raised another $2.8 million for her Senate campaign in the second quarter of this year.
To date, six Democrats have filed paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate seat, along with three Republicans.
Candidates can still join — or leave — the race by the spring filing deadline. But here’s who’s in so far:
Democrats
Nasser Beydoun: The Dearborn businessman is a restaurant owner and former chair of the American Arab Chamber of Congress. Beydoun describes himself as a political moderate and civil rights advocate. He is the son of a Lebanese immigrant who found his footing in Michigan as a UAW member, according to Beydoun’s campaign.
Zack Burns: An attorney from Ann Arbor, Burns entered the race in April with a promise to focus on affordable housing, health care, education and training. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford and The University of California, Irvine, according to his campaign.
Hill Harper An actor known for his roles on “The Good Doctor” and “CSI: NY,” Harper is also an attorney, single father, author and coffee shop owner. The son of two doctors, Harper was born in Iowa and moved to Detroit in 2016. He is a graduate of Harvard University. A cancer survivor, Harper in 2012 was appointed to a cancer panel by then-President Barack Obama.
Leslie Love: A former state lawmaker from Detroit, Love served in the Michigan House from 2015 to 2020, where she helped end so-called “driver responsibility fees” that critics had called a double penalty. After Love was forced from the Legislature by term limits, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2021 appointed her to the Natural Resources Commission in 2021, making her the first African American woman to serve on the panel.
Pamela Pugh: A former chief public health officer for Saginaw, Pugh currently serves as president of the Michigan State Board of Education after winning re-election in 2022. With degrees from the University of Michigan and Florida A&M, Pugh describes herself as a scientist, community leader and education advocate.
Elissa Slotkin: The sitting U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 7th District, Slotkin has served in Congress since 2019 and currently lives in Lansing. She previously worked as a Department of Defense official and analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency. Born in New York but raised in Oakland County, Slotkin has degrees from Cornell and Columbia universities.
Republicans
Nikki Snyder, A registered nurse from Howell, Snyder has served on the Michigan State Board of Education since 2016, when she was the second-highest vote getter in the general election. Snyder describes herself as a “freedom-loving patriot” and wants a Parent’s Bill of Rights to ensure they have a strong role in their children’s education.
Michael Hoover A businessman who previously worked at Dow Chemical, Hoover lives in Laingsburg in Shiawassee County and is a first-time candidate for political office. His focus is on strong families, fiscal responsibility, educational freedom, middle-class prosperity and government accountability, according to his campaign.
Alexandria Taylor A former Democrat from Romulus, Taylor is an attorney who last year worked on a failed Republican lawsuit that sought to invalidate all mail-in ballots from Detroit. She holds degrees from Michigan State, Eastern Michigan and Detroit Mercy universities, according to her campaign, which says she is focused on “family, faith and freedom.”
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