New twist in 2024 Senate race in Michigan

| 11:00 am EST February 25, 2023
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The 2024 Senate race in Michigan was already shaping up to be a notable one, given that incumbent Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow has announced her retirement. This sets up a Senate race with no incumbents, in a swing state, in a presidential election year – meaning we don’t know what we’re looking at. Now there’s a new twist.

There are multiple viable Democratic names floating around as potential candidates in the Michigan race, and we’ll have to wait to see how that primary field comes together. But the Republicans, as is increasingly the case in the post-Trump era, just can’t seem to come up with a viable candidate.

House Republican John James was thought to be a potential contender for the Senate seat in 2024, but now he’s announced that he’s not going to run. When James ran for Michigan’s other Senate seat in 2020, he only lost by 1.7 points. Given that he’s already publicly distancing himself from the 2024 Senate race nearly two years in advance, it raises questions about whether the seat is truly in play for the Republicans. If James doesn’t think he can win, what Republican can win?

As of now, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report has the Michigan Senate race listed as “Lean Democrat.” Of course it’s still super early, and a lot can change. But now we know that the Democrats won’t have to worry about one of the most viable potential Republican candidates.