Dem
51
GOP
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As readers of this site know, the 2024 election cycle is already underway. And for loyal party members who are up in 2024, that means that the time to decide on a reelection bid is upon us. If they are running, they need to get their campaign staff together and ramp up their fundraising. And if they are not running, they need to get out of the way so that potential contenders can do the same.
It's early January, and the House doesn't even have a speaker as yet. Nonetheless, the first domino has fallen. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has decided that four terms is enough and that she doesn't want to be in the Senate into her eighties. And so, she announced yesterday that she would step aside in favor of "a new generation of leaders."
The bad news for Democrats is that the 2024 map was already brutal, and now they have to defend an open seat in a swingy state. That said, the state has sent a grand total of one Republican to the Senate in the last half-century (Spencer Abraham), so let's not overstate exactly how swingy the seat is. Further, the Democratic bench in Michigan is deep. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg have already opted out of the race, but Reps. Elissa Slotkin and Debbie Dingell are possibilities, as is state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who went viral last year due to her floor speech lambasting anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry.
On the Republican side, the bench is more shallow. There are no Republicans in statewide office right now. Rep.-elect John James was the GOP candidate in each of the last two Senate elections in Michigan, and gave Stabenow all she could handle 6 years ago, so he will probably be back for a third bite at the apple. The name of Rep. Bill Huizenga, who will commence his seventh term in the House if they ever elect a speaker, is also being bandied about. And let's not forget that musicians Ted Nugent and Kid Rock are also from Michigan, as is actor Tim Allen. After all, in today's Republican Party, lack of experience at any level of government is a feature, not a bug. (Z)