Gretchen Whitmer endorses Haley Stevens in Michigan Senate primary
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens on Friday ahead of the state’s U.S. Senate Democratic primary.
Stevens, the more centrist candidate and progressive Dr. Abdul El-Sayed They are at the forefront of the race as early voting begins on Saturday.
Whitmer’s endorsement could give Stevens a boost in a state the governor has twice won by significant margins.
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Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., speaks with the media following the debate at WoodTV studios in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Kristen Norman)
The governor also defeated El-Sayed in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor.
Whitmer told supporters at the Teamsters hall in Detroit on Friday that Stevens, who appeared on stage with her and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, had “what it takes to win.”
“Michiganans need a fighter in Washington, and there are few leaders who fight harder than Haley Stevens,” Whitmer said at the event.
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Stevens, who flipped a Republican House seat in 2018, is also backed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, a two-term Democrat who is retiring from the seat.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivers the State of the State address at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, on February 25, 2026. (Devin Anderson-Torrez/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP)
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York are supporting El-Sayed.
“The corporate establishment has closed ranks and made its choice; now Michigan voters will make their choice,” El-Sayed spokeswoman Roxie Richner told the Associated Press.
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In the left foreground, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-Y., Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate primary candidate Abdul El-Sayed and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., join hands after a campaign rally in Detroit on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)
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Michigan’s Democratic primary will be held Aug. 4, and the winner will face Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in November.
Democrats want to wrest the U.S. Senate from narrow Republican control, and to do that they need to hold Michigan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
