Mallory McMorrow, a Democrat, has dropped out of the Michigan Senate primary. This development narrows the field to two candidates: Rep. Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, who is running from the Bernie Sanders wing of the party.
Background
McMorrow’s exit from the race reflects her own struggles as well as the emphasis among many Democrats to stop El-Sayed, whom they fear would be a weaker general election candidate against former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican.
McMorrow, in a video, touted her achievements as majority whip of the state Senate and urged her supporters to ‘elect Democrats up and down the ticket’ in November, though she did not endorse either of her former opponents.
Stevens, the favored candidate of Democratic leaders in Washington, acknowledged McMorrow’s prominent position in state politics in a statement, calling her an ‘important voice’ on ‘policies that benefit Michigan’s children and families.’ Stevens earned the backing of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a McMorrow ally, on Sunday.
El-Sayed praised McMorrow for fighting against politics that ‘rigs the system’ and urged her supporters to back him. McMorrow was notably the first candidate in the race to say that she would not back Chuck Schumer to remain Senate Democratic leader if elected.
Implications
The Republican party hopes to flip the seat and bolster their efforts to retain the majority in the Senate. Few Democrats believe they have a path to taking the majority without holding onto the open seat, which is held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
