Chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., speaks through the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee hearing titled FTX Collapse Lessons, in Dirksen Constructing on Thursday, December 1, 2022.
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Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a member of the Democratic leadership, announced Thursday that she is going to not run for a fifth term in 2024, opening up a seat in the important thing battleground state.
The news likely comes as a shock to many Democrats within the state because Stabenow had not previously indicated that she wouldn’t seek reelection.
“Inspired by a latest generation of leaders, I even have decided to pass the torch within the U.S. Senate. I’m announcing today that I is not going to seek reelection and can leave the U.S. Senate at the top of my term on January 3, 2025,” Stabenow said in a press release.
Democrats will face a test to seek out a candidate with the broad support of Stabenow, first elected to the Senate in 2000. She has easily won reelection since then.
She joined the House in 1996. In 2000, she made history by becoming the primary woman to be elected senator in Michigan, defeating a Republican incumbent. She turned back GOP challenges in 2006 and 2012 and defeated political newcomer John James, by 6.5 percentage points in 2018. James was elected to the House in November.
The 72-year-old Stabenow, of Lansing, is the longest-serving member of the state’s congressional delegation. She recently was elevated to chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, making her the No. 3 rating party leader, and heads the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
Stabenow most recently has been involved in bipartisan laws geared toward increasing oversight of cryptocurrencies. She has also led efforts to expand and increase funding for mental health care each nationally and in Michigan.
The announcement is predicted to make Michigan’s 2024 Senate race one of the competitive within the country.
While the present political climate in Michigan favors Democrats following a midterm election where they flipped the state House and Senate, the state continues to be expected to be one in every of the nation’s premier battlegrounds within the 2024 presidential election.
Just one Michigan Republican has held a seat within the Senate previously 40 years.
The date of Michigan’s primary is yet to be finalized after the Democratic National Committee rule-making arm voted to maneuver Michigan up within the party’s presidential primary calendar for 2024. If the total DNC approves the plan, as expected, Michigan can be the fifth state to vote in the first process on Feb. 27.
The Republican National Committee has already set their primary schedule and Michigan shouldn’t be in the primary five states. If Michigan Republicans were to maneuver their primary before March 1 to match the Democrat’s plan, they may very well be significantly penalized by the national Republican Party.
