Gretchen Whitmer endorses Haley Stevens for Michigan Senate seat
Politico · LC · trust 42/100
Politico Logo More from Politico Europe Pro E&E News AgencyIQ Press Escape to close the menu.
WASHINGTON & POLITICS WASHINGTON & POLITICS 6 items 1st item Congress 2nd item White House 3rd item Supreme Court and Legal Issues 4th item Magazine 5th item 2026 Elections 6th item Latest on POLITICO STATE POLITICS & POLICY STATE POLITICS & POLICY 4 items 1st item California 2nd item Florida 3rd item New Jersey 4th item New York GLOBAL POLITICS & POLICY GLOBAL POLITICS & POLICY 4 items 1st item Brussels 2nd item Canada 3rd item United Kingdom 4th item World Cup POLICY NEWS POLICY NEWS 11 items 1st item Food and Agriculture 2nd item Cybersecurity 3rd item Defense 4th item Education 5th item Energy and Climate 6th item Tax, Finance and the Economy 7th item Health Care 8th item Labor 9th item Tech 10th item Trade 11th item Transportation NEWSLETTERS NEWSLETTERS 6 items 1st item Playbook 2nd item West Wing Playbook 3rd item Inside Congress 4th item POLITICO Forecast 5th item POLITICO Magazine 6th item All Newsletters COLUMNISTS COLUMNISTS 7 items 1st item Alex Burns 2nd item Victoria Guida 3rd item John Harris 4th item Debra Kahn 5th item Jonathan Martin 6th item Nahal Toosi 7th item All Columnists SERIES & MORE SERIES & MORE 7 items 1st item Inside Congress Live 2nd item Breaking News Alerts 3rd item Podcasts 4th item Video 5th item Matt Wuerker Cartoons 6th item Cartoon Carousel 7th item The POLITICO Poll POLITICO Live POLITICO Live 1 item 1st item Events Follow us X Instagram Facebook LinkedIn My Account Log In Gretchen Whitmer endorses Haley Stevens for Michigan Senate seat Whitmer waded into one of the highest-profile ideological battles within the Democratic Party.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 21, 2026. | Markus Schreiber/AP
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens in her state’s contentious Democratic Senate primary on Friday, wading into one of the highest-profile ideological battles within the Democratic Party.
“As governor, I have one strategy: Get things done. And that strategy informs everything that I do, and that’s why I’m endorsing Haley Stevens for the U.S. Senate,” Whitmer said in a video posted to Stevens ’ account .
Stevens is hosting a meet-and-greet alongside the governor and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) in Detroit Friday afternoon.
Stevens and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed are the two major Democratic candidates competing in the Aug. 4 primary to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters .
El-Sayed’s candidacy has galvanized progressives, while Stevens has backing from more mainstream Democrats and the tacit support of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer .
“I am absolutely thrilled to have Gov @G retchenWhitmer’ s endorsement for U.S. Senate,” Stevens said in a post on social media . “She is a champion for our state, she understands the stakes of this race and why it’s so important we elect the strongest Dem in this primary, and she gets stuff done for Michigan. Let’s go win!”
The race has gained national attention as Democrats aim to keep the seat blue and Republicans vie to flip the seat.
Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will face GOP candidate and former Rep. Mike Rogers , who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump , in November.
Stevens and El-Sayed represent the party’s ideological split, with Stevens representing the more moderate lane of the party and El-Sayed the progressive wing. That’s also evident in who endorsed them. Stevens received an additional endorsement from outgoing Sen. Gary Peters and El-Sayed has been endorsed by more progressive lawmakers such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
In Warren ’s endorsement video, she praised El-Sayed’s vow to not take corporate money while taking a jab at Stevens , who has benefitted from a slew of outside donations — including nearly $30 million from the AIPAC-aligned United Democracy Project.
Global power is in flux. Your daily guide to what comes next.
By signing up, you acknowledge and agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service . You may unsubscribe at any time by following the directions at the bottom of the email or by contacting us here . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Read the original at Politico →
Open in TruthVane →