State Sen. Mallory McMorrow has become the first major candidate to announce a run for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters.

This week on MichMash, Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben sit down with Politico’s Deputy Editor, Zack Stanton, to discuss McMorrow’s chances of winning the race.

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In this episode:

• McMorrow’s political career so far
• Potential Republican candidates joining the Michigan U.S. Senate race
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s national profile

McMorrow — a Democrat from Royal Oak — burst onto the state’s political scene in 2018, when as a first time candidate and relatively new Michigan resident, she was one of many people motivated to run for office after President Trump won in 2016.

She ran against a Republican incumbent in an area of Oakland County that never seemed likely to elect a Democrat, Gorchow noted. But, she won nonetheless, knocking out Republican Sen. Marty Knollenberg.

Now considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, McMorrow has proven herself to be a great communicator, and shows great potential in race, Stanton said.

“She is an enormously talented politician, and I think a lot of people in Washington, when they see her, they see a gifted natural athlete — there is something there that isn’t fully learned, it’s just there, it’s it. And she seems to have that,” he said. “The question now I think to a lot of people is ‘what could complicate her path,’ because she seems like far and away the strongest candidate in the field thus far.”

Stanton said that many Democrats are worried about Republicans flipping the seat after Trump won the state in 2024, and several close races in the November election led Republicans to a 53-47 majority in the Senate.

Still, he said, “When you have someone like Mallory McMorrow jumping into the race, she really represents this shift in the Democratic party’s makeup.” 

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel have also expressed a possible interest in entering the race on the Democratic ticket, along with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed — who recently stepped down from his role as Wayne County health director as he considers a run for the seat.

On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers — who narrowly lost the 2024 U.S. Senate race against Democrat Elissa Slotkin, has hinted that he would run. Muskegon County businesswoman and conservative commentator Tudor Dixon has also expressed an interest in running.

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More from WDET:

• Michigan lawmaker Mallory McMorrow announces Democratic bid for US Senate
• Mallory McMorrow on her DNC speech, future priorities for the state
• Mallory McMorrow’s response to accusations of ‘grooming’ children propels state senator to national spotlight