Current:Home > FinanceSurpassing Quant Think Tank Center|Michigan primaries will set the stage for Senate, House races key to control of Congress -TrueNorth Finance Path
Surpassing Quant Think Tank Center|Michigan primaries will set the stage for Senate, House races key to control of Congress
Ethermac Exchange View
Date:2025-04-10 13:26:01
LANSING,Surpassing Quant Think Tank Center Mich. (AP) — Michigan voters on Tuesday will decide which Republican and Democratic candidates will compete in November for the state’s highly coveted open U.S. Senate seat, in addition to several of the nation’s most competitive U.S. House races.
Many Democrats have coalesced around U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the Senate race while Republicans have united behind former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who received an endorsement from Donald Trump earlier this year. Both candidates are vying for a seat left open by longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s retirement, but they must first defeat underdog challengers on Tuesday.
Slotkin is up against actor Hill Harper, while Republicans will choose between Rogers, former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash and physician Sherry O’Donnell. Although businessman Sandy Pensler dropped out and endorsed Rogers at a July 20 rally with Trump, his name will still appear on the ballot due to his late withdrawal.
With Democrats holding a razor-thin majority in the Senate and Republicans in the House, competitive races like those in Michigan are drawing lots of attention. The state’s status as a key presidential swing state raises the stakes for those seats even higher, with party control on the line from the top of the ballot all the way down to the state Legislature.
Michigan’s open Senate seat is one of a handful of races nationwide that will determine control of the upper chamber in November. With a later congressional primary, candidates will have a short period to transition from competing against their own party members to appealing to a broader base of voters for the Nov. 5 general election, which may explain why Slotkin and Rogers have campaigned with their eyes on the general election.
National groups on both sides have already reserved millions for advertisements after the primary. Both Slotkin and Rogers, viewed for months as the overwhelming favorites in their primaries, have skipped debates and refrained from holding large campaign events.
Several U.S. House seats with primaries on Tuesday could influence the balance of power in the lower chamber, but there, too, the biggest battles will be fought in the fall campaign.
Slotkin’s entry into the Senate race has left her mid-Michigan 7th Congressional District seat open, historically one of the nation’s top battleground districts. Both party candidates are running unopposed in their primaries there, setting the table for a November matchup between Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr. and Republican Tom Barrett.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
- Stay informed. Keep your pulse on the news with breaking news email alerts. Sign up here.
The 8th Congressional District is also an open race with U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee’s retirement. The Democratic congressman has endorsed state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet to take his place, but state Board of Education President Pamela Pugh and Matt Collier, the former mayor of Flint, are also vying for the party’s nomination.
On the Republican side, former TV anchor Paul Junge is making another bid after losing to Kildee by over 10 percentage points last year. Joining him in the race are Mary Draves, a former chemical manufacturing executive at Dow Inc., and Anthony Hudson.
Meanwhile, several incumbents in battleground seats are waiting to see who they will face in November.
U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, who in 2022 became the first Democrat to represent Grand Rapids in decades, is awaiting the outcome of the Republican primary between attorney Paul Hudson and businessman Michael Markey Jr. in the western Michigan district.
National Democrats are also hoping to flip a district just north of Detroit currently held by freshman GOP Rep. John James. Carl Marlinga, a longtime Macomb County prosecutor who lost to James in 2022 by 1,600 votes, is facing Emily Busch, Tiffany Tilley and Diane Young in the Democratic primary.
In a heavily Democratic district encompassing downtown Detroit, U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar faces a challenge from Detroit City Council member Mary Waters, who is endorsed by Mayor Mike Duggan. Thanedar has significantly outraised her and is favored to win the Democratic nomination, which would likely leave Detroit — a city that is nearly 80% Black — without Black representation in Congress for a second consecutive term.
Down-ballot races are holding primaries across the state on Tuesday. Control of the state House of Representatives will be at stake in November, with all 110 seats up for election. Democrats took control of both chambers and the governor’s office for the first time in four decades in 2022 and will be trying to defend those majorities.
___
Associated Press writer Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report.
veryGood! (91)
Related
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- See Priyanka Chopra Hold Daughter Malti Close in Sweet Photos
- Billy Porter Details How Accused Brought Authenticity to Its Portrayal of the Drag Scene
- Margaret Atwood's 'Old Babes in the Wood' tackles what it means to be human
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- New film explores how 'the father of video art' pioneered an art form
- Shop the Cutest Under $50 Workout Sets From Amazon to Break a Sweat in Style
- Stranger Things' David Harbour Shares Heartfelt Reaction to Noah Schnapp's Coming Out
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- No substance, just 'Air'
Ranking
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- 'The Last Animal' is a bright-eyed meditation on what animates us
- 16 Frequently Used Household Items You're Probably Forgetting To Replace
- From 'Almost Famous' to definitely famous, Billy Crudup is enjoying his new TV roles
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- 'John Wick: Chapter 4' wonders, 'When does this all end?'
- 'Phantom of the Opera' takes a final Broadway bow after 13,981 performances
- Love Is Blind Season 4: Get Your First Look and Find Out When It Premieres
Recommendation
Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
Why Jeremy Strong Has Succession Fans Thinking Season 4 Will Be the Last
Michelle Yeoh called out sexism in Hollywood. Will it help close the gender gap?
It's a lovely day in London with the romantic 'Rye Lane'
Intellectuals vs. The Internet
Poetry-loving Biden heads to Ireland, home of the 'best poets in the world'
Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny Spotted at Restaurant With Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber
'Showing Up' is a rare glimpse of an artist at (very hard) work