The Metro is closely watching the race for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat.

The Republican side is settled. Former Congressman Mike Rogers, who lost to Elissa Slotkin by less than half a point in 2024, is running again. This time, he wants the seat Gary Peters is leaving behind.

The Democratic side is more complicated. Three serious candidates are competing for the nomination, and the distance between them tells you something about where the party is right now.

Congresswoman Haley Stevens has Chuck Schumer’s endorsement and millions in support from AIPAC. She is running on expanding the Affordable Care Act and working within existing institutions. State Senator Mallory McMorrow wants generational change inside the party — new leadership, new tactics — but within the current system. Physician Abdul El-Sayed is running to the left of both. He wants Medicare for All, the abolition of ICE, and says Democratic leadership has lost touch with its own voters.

They disagree on healthcare. They disagree on immigration enforcement. They disagree on Israel and Gaza, on whether billionaires should exist, and on who should be leading their own party.

WDET’s Russ McNamara sat down with all three — same questions, same mic — and the answers lay out a party in the middle of an argument with itself. The Metro listened back to that story, then Russ joined Robyn Vincent for some analysis about this moment.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

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One of the most watched and most expensive U.S. Senate races in the country is happening here in Michigan. Republicans are seemingly running it back with Mike Rogers – who lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin two years ago.

However, in the race to replace Gary Peters, there’s a trio of Democrats vying for the party’s nomination. Congresswoman Haley Stevens, State Senator Mallory McMorrow, and physician Abdul El-Sayed are all serious contenders.

WDET’s Russ McNamara has talked with the three candidates about issues that separate themselves within the Democratic Party.

There is a certain ideological split within the Democratic Party that does not exist currently within the GOP. Republicans are either pro-Donald Trump or they lose elections. Democrats are split with more nuance on some policies – but even if it’s just a wiggle, there’s still room. 

Starting with healthcare

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed has been so vocal about his perspective on healthcare that he wrote a book on it.

“Medicare for All is government health insurance guaranteed for everyone, regardless of what circumstances you’re in,” El-Sayed says.  

“If you like your insurance through your employer or through your union, I hope that will be there for you. But if you lose your job, if your factory shuts down, you shouldn’t be destitute without the health care that you need and deserve so.”

Instead of the government taking on the entire burden of the health care system, Mallory McMorrow prefers a public option. Private insurers stick around, but a government-backed option exists. For her, Medicare For All is a no-go.

“I think it’s too big of a challenge. Admittedly, we are a country of more than 360 million people. When I talk to people all across the state, they don’t say that they want one single system. They say, I want the insurance that works for me,” McMorrow said.  

“I want to be able to see my doctor. I want to be able to go to my pediatrician, and I want it to be affordable. That, to me, requires more options, not fewer.”

For Congresswoman Haley Stevens,  she wants everyone who can be covered under the Affordable Care Act to get covered.  

“I deeply believe that we need to expand the Affordable Care Act,” Stevens said. “We need to protect that and we also need to make the tax subsidies permanent.”

The Republican-led Congress did not renew those tax subsidies. Rates went up and an estimated 1,200,000 fewer people did not enroll in Obamacare this year.

Will you be a good ally?

Since the last election cycle, Republicans have worked to strip transgender Americans of their rights to seek the healthcare they need.

It became a line of attack not only against trans youth, but against Democrats.

For many within the Democratic Party, the steadfast support of the LGBTQ community has shown cracks when it comes to trans rights.

McMorrow says part of the reason why trans folks are a target is that people are looking for someone to blame for a bad economy.

“I fundamentally believe the way forward is that we have to be the party that solves those fundamental problems for people,” McMorrow said. “If we can restore the American Dream and ensure that in Michigan and in the United States, if you work hard, you play by the rules, you can achieve that life that you wanted, then there won’t be this appetite to target and hurt vulnerable kids.”

Congresswoman Stevens has been supportive of the LGBTQ community and has tweeted support saying every American, regardless of their gender identity should feel safe to be their authentic selves. She voted against the anti-trans Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act earlier this year.

Dr. El-Sayed says Democrats need to be a good ally.

“I believe that rights are rights are rights. And when you assent to somebody taking away somebody else’s rights, you are at some point assenting to somebody coming for yours,” El-Sayed said.

“We have to stand together to fight for our collective rights, even when those rights are rights we may never see ourselves using.”

The fight for trans rights will come up again, with President Trump’s Save America Act attempting to tie restrictions to healthcare for trans people to a bill about adding strict voter ID laws.

Should ICE exist?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be a hot topic this year for the midterm elections. ICE agents have killed at least three American citizens in the past year. The government has deported or jailed tens of thousands of immigrants, most with no criminal records.

Before she was fired, Congresswoman Stevens advocated for the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “Well, ICE needs to be overhauled. I will tell you that we need to start seeing accountability, and we need a complete overhaul of ICE. And there has been mismanagement from the very top.”

Mallory McMorrow was asked if ICE should exist as an agency.  

 “Yes, and it needs to be vastly reformed. Michigan is a border state. We need immigration and customs enforcement to do the work of what and who comes across the border. That should be its job,” McMorrow said. “Its job should not be to be unleashed on communities, to terrorize people, to go after people whose skin color isn’t exactly right, or who have an accent.”

Abdul El-Sayed believes ICE should be abolished.

 “We can have a safe and secure southern border. We can enforce immigration law, but ICE is not about that. What ICE is about is about a paramilitary force normalizing the use of government power on peaceful streets, in thrall to one man,” El-Sayed said.

Should billionaires exist?

The concentration of wealth at the top has been a growing concern since the Reaganomics era of the mid-to-late 1980s. Now tax rates for corporations and the wealthy have been slashed – while the federal government – and many states – have defunded social programs.

The number of billionaires has tripled in the past 15 years. I asked the candidates if billionaires – from an ethical standpoint – should exist.

McMorrow was unequivocal.

“Yes, I think they can and should exist, and I look at somebody like Mark Cuban as an example. You can be a billionaire without being a jerk,” McMorrow said.

It should be noted that Cuban wrote a blurb praising the State Senator’s book that came out last year.

 El-Sayed says billionaires should be the exception, not the norm.

“I don’t think that our system should be in the business of creating billionaires. I think our system should be in the business of empowering everyday folks to be able to live a life with access to the basic dignities that they need and deserve, good housing, good health care, affordable food,” El-Sayed said.

Haley Stevens says the wealthiest need to pay higher taxes, but didn’t outright say they should be taxed out of existence.  

“Well, we’re not going to be seeing someone like myself do billionaire bidding in the United States Senate. I’ll tell you that much. And tackling where and how billionaires are not paying their fair share needs to get done.”

That’s a good lead into:

Campaign contributions

When it comes to campaign cash, El-Sayed and McMorrow aren’t taking corporate money for the senate run.

McMorrow has taken corporate money in the past. but not this round. The filings with the Federal Elections Commission bear that out.

 “More than half of our donations are from people donating $200 or less,” McMorrow said.

El-Sayed avoided taking corporate dollars in a failed run for Michigan governor in 2018.

“I’m the only person running for US Senate who’s never taken a dime of corporate money to fund a campaign, and that shows up in the ways that I stand up to corporations.”

Congresswoman Stevens has no such hangups and says she will use all avenues to raise campaign money.

 “Well, look, I’m running my campaign in a grassroots way, with individual donors who participate in the democratic process and the way that our country allows,” Stevens said.

Some of that money is coming from AIPAC – the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Stevens has taken millions from the controversial organization that aides pro-Israel Republicans and Democrats. Earlier this month, as Israel and the U.S. continued to bomb Iran, Stevens appeared in a video for AIPAC.

The war in Gaza

Stevens supports a two state solution for Israel and Palestine.  

 “We need people in Gaza Palestinian people to have dignity and peace, just as we need people in Israel to do so.”

Mallory McMorrow was initially reluctant to criticize Israel’s attacks, but this fall when asked if the tens of thousands of dead Palestinians was tantamount to genocide, McMorrow said “yes,” even if she doesn’t seem comfortable using the term.

 “I am somebody who looks at the videos, the photos, the amount of pain that has been caused in the Middle East, and you can’t not be heartbroken,” McMorrow said. “But I also feel like we are getting lost in this conversation, and it feels like a political purity test on a word—a word that, by the way, to people who lost family members in the Holocaust, does mean something very different and very visceral.”

Abdul El-Sayed has unequivocally said that Israel’s assault on Palestinians – and the role the U.S. has played in supporting it – is genocide.

“I believe in international law,” El-Sayed said. “I want our tax dollars to stop killing children.”

Do Democrats need a change at the top?

Support for the Democratic Party and its leadership are at an all-time low. The party is polling behind artificial intelligence and ahead of Iran.

The biggest complaint is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer aren’t doing enough to push back against the Trump Administration.

Mallory McMorrow says a change at the top is needed and a youth movement needs to happen among Congressional Democrats.

“We need leaders who understand how to engage with people, not as just a number, not as a voter or a donor, but as part of the team,” McMorrow said.

Abdul El-Sayed says stunning defeats in 2024 mean there’s a disconnect between party leadership and its base.

 “I think right now, we are in a place where there is so much profound frustration about the chasm between the Democratic Party writ large and its voters,” El-Sayed said. “And I think any democratic leader who wants to win elections in the future should be less worried about who holds the luxury suite on the top of the Titanic and more worried about getting in the engine room and saving the Titanic, which is where we are.”

Congresswoman Haley Stevens – who has Schumer’s support – sidestepped the question. 

“You’re asking me about the future of the Democratic Party. And there are some people who are running who assume that’s what this race is all about, and I don’t think that’s fair to the people of Michigan,” Stevens said. “I believe that this race is about the future of Michigan.”

Changes to SCOTUS?

The future of the U.S. Supreme Court has come up a lot since the conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Justices have been a bit inconsistent in their rulings depending on who was president.

Stevens says something needs to change.

“I deeply support ethics reform for the Supreme Court, what seems to look like pay-to-play, the fact that they have a different set of ethics rules, I think it would be more than appropriate, given that the Supreme Court doesn’t have elections and it’s a lifetime appointment,” Stevens said.

McMorrow thinks there needs to be a plan that makes sense both ethically and politically.

 “I am talking to some constitutional experts right now, some judicial experts on whether that means term limits, whether that means oversight, whether it means reforms, or whether it means more justices, I am open to anything to ensure the Supreme Court does its job,” McMorrow said.

El-Sayed has been working on a plan for SCOTUS for a while.

“I proposed a system here that says that every president should have three appointments, every Supreme Court justice should have at least ten years and a possible renewal for another ten years. But what that does is it incentivizes the selection of jurists who want to interpret the Constitution on its own terms,” El-Sayed said.

There are no shortage of issues for candidates in the upcoming elections, and more are sure to pop up along the way. Questions for the primary will be different than those in the general election this fall.

Detroit Public Radio plans to talk with these candidates multiple times over the next few months so our listeners can make an informed decision at the polls.

In 2026, voters in Michigan will cast ballots for races involving the office of Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. Gary Peters (D-MI) is opting to retire, so there’s an open U.S. Senate seat.

Democrats have three strong candidates: Mallory McMorrow, Haley Stevens, and Abdul El-Sayed. All three have raised millions of dollars for their campaigns ahead of the August primary.

Throughout the primary, Detroit Public Radio will be checking in with the candidates so our listeners can make an informed decision. The focus of this first round of interviews is to set a baseline for the candidates views on policy and what separates them from their competitors.

Having talked with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow, this first round of conversations concludes with Congresswoman Haley Stevens.

She talked with All Things Considered Detroit Host Russ McNamara on Feb. 18, 2026.

ICE overhaul

Russ McNamara: This week, you went to the largest detention center for migrants in the Midwest- the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin. You’ve called for the impeachment of homeland security secretary Kristi Noem. Should Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) exist as an agency?

U.S. Representative Haley Stevens: Well, ICE needs to be overhauled. I will tell you that we need to start seeing accountability, and we need a complete overhaul of ICE. There has been mismanagement from the very top, and that’s Kristi Noem. That’s why I’m signed on to the articles of impeachment.

It’s also why I have signed on to legislation to redirect the $75 billion plus up that came from the Big Beautiful Bill championed by Donald Trump that went to ICE. That $75 billion needs to go to local law enforcement and for training and for safety and protocol measures that are really going to keep our neighborhoods safe.

What ICE is doing right now is so out of control, it is so damaging, and it’s chaotic. Michiganders are seeing what unfolded in Minneapolis, and they are worried about that coming here.

RM: In Baldwin, you told reporters, “There is female leadership here, and there are women who walked with us today…and explained how important it is to treat people with humanity.” I’m kind of curious about this quote, because taken as it is, it almost seems like you’re saying what’s happening there is okay as long as women have a seat at the table.

HS: Well, what’s happening with ICE is not okay at all. And what was very astonishing, and the reason I made that point, is because these are supposed to be the most “dangerous criminals” that ICE is taking into these detention facilities, and yet there are guards and people in that facility who don’t carry any weapons.

There’s no weapons, there’s no tasers, and yet we are supposedly dealing with the most dangerous criminals. So what ICE is doing is certainly not okay, and that’s why I’m pushing very hard for these reforms and accountability. I mean, we need to see accountability, particularly for crimes that have been committed, and we need to see prosecutions out of what happened in Minneapolis.

Affordable health care

RM: What is your plan to fix health care? Your opponents have endorsed a public option or Medicare for All. Where do you stand in all that?

HS: I’m writing legislation and fighting for Michigan’s affordable health care each and every single day, and I have throughout my time in Congress. I deeply believe that we need to expand the Affordable Care Act. We need to protect that and we we also need to make the tax subsidies permanent. We’ve seen before our very eyes time and time again how Republicans do not believe in the promise of affordable, quality, accessible health care.

I worked in the Obama administration. I want to protect Obamacare. I also want to address the cuts to Medicaid that have come down. We need to keep expanding Medicaid.

And then lastly, we need to tackle the cost of prescription drugs. We’ve made some headway on that in previous times. Right now, it feels as though our prescription drug efforts are falling on deaf ears. I believe in benchmarking prescription drug costs to the cost of Medicare.

Abortion rights and government reform

RM: Being in the U.S. House, you know better than anyone that Congress has largely been in gridlock these past few years. If elected to the Senate, do you support the elimination of the filibuster?

HS: I’ll tell you that I do for a variety of matters, particularly women’s health protection. That’s legislation that I have championed in the house, that I’ve seen pass the House and then fall flat in the Senate. Republicans like Mike Rogers (U.S. Senate candidate) are going to vote for a national abortion ban, and they are going to stand in the way of codifying abortion rights in this country. We have those rights here in Michigan, we had a tremendous victory at the ballot box a handful of years ago, and yet those rights are still vulnerable. There are lawmakers on the other side of the aisle who are not going to stand up for people’s health, not going to stand up for women’s abortions rights, and addressing the filibuster will get us out of that mess.

RM: Do you support reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court—packing, term limits or otherwise?

HS: Look, all three branches of government have some real need for reforms and some ethics. I deeply support ethics reform. For the Supreme Court, what seems to look like pay-to-play, the fact that they have a different set of ethics rules, I think it would be more than appropriate, given that the Supreme Court doesn’t have elections, and it’s a lifetime appointment to look at the term limits and age limits and the like.

Focus on Michigan

RM: Approval ratings for Democratic leadership right now are around 25%. Do you think Congress needs a fresh look or move on from the current leadership of Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries?

HS: Well, I’ll tell you what, Congress and this open U.S. Senate seat that we have here in Michigan needs its best champion in the United States Senate, and that’s me. Someone with a track record of results for our state when we’re in moments of uncertainty, I put up my hand to run at it. I did that as chief of staff in the administration of Barack Obama on the U.S. auto rescue, when General Motors and Chrysler were steering bankruptcy off the cliff and 200,000 Michigan jobs were on the line; I have stood up for our state economy and our workforce when supply chain disruptions were coming down, and helped to pass the CHIPS and Science Act. That’s a track record of delivery and speaking directly to what drives our economy, which keeps people employed, and also a plan to lower costs. And so I’m ready to hit the ground running in the United States Senate. And I believe my run for United States Senate is about the future of Michigan.

RM: But that wasn’t the question. I was asking you if there should be a change in Democratic leadership.

HS: You’re asking me about the future of the Democratic Party. And there are some people who are running who assume that’s what this race is all about, and I don’t think that’s fair to the people of Michigan. I believe that this race is about the future of Michigan and our workforce, and who’s going to get points on the scoreboard for organized labor.

I’m sitting before you here today as the only candidate in this race who’s been endorsed by organized labor, and in terms of, you know, the inside baseball conversations, because I understand what you were specifically asking me. Of course, we can make those decisions. You know, Elissa Slotkin and I will absolutely hone in on what’s best for Michigan and what’s best for the Senate operations. That’s what’s got to happen. You know, in terms of some of those inside baseball, who’s in leadership and whatnot? What Michigan needs, and what I am focused on, is Michigan leadership.

AI data centers

RM: Michiganders seem to hate data centers. The growing A.I. boom, if it comes to fruition, will eat up a lot of resources. How do you weigh the need to address climate change with the constant need for business growth and more jobs in Michigan?

HS: Well, look at what we accomplished with the Inflation Reduction Act—something that I was proud to champion in the House of Representatives alongside leaders from our environmental movement, like the League of Conservation Voters. And that was the first time in history where the industry leaders, automotive companies in particular, also endorsed that legislation. And when we look at the large challenges that we are facing in terms of climate change, it is an all hands on deck approach.

We have got to take climate changes and energy needs very seriously, and this is something that I have fought for in the United States House of Representatives on the science committee, right? I held the first hearing on recycling technology in a decade when I got to Congress.

And so in some respects, you know, the table setting and the way in which we can look at creating jobs, winning the future and ensuring that we are not polluting, that we’ve shown that that can be done, you know, in terms of data centers and winning innovation races, I have been rigorous in conversations around the environmental protections and the consumer protections and the cost needs.

Wealth gap

RM: Money in this country seems to be going upwards. We’re creating lots of new billionaires. How do you address the growing wealth gap?

HS: We need someone who’s gonna fight for our organized labor and our middle class, and get the protecting the right to organize legislation done, as well as ensuring that the National Labor Relations Board actually has people with a labor background on the board. This administration has gone after people’s rights to organize, they have been trying to squash the voice of organized labor, and that is one of the best keys to addressing the wealth gap: the negotiating power of the workforce. I’m not running for Senate to do billionaire bidding.

I believe that this race is about the future of Michigan and our workforce, and who’s going to get points on the scoreboard for organized labor.

You know, I didn’t vote for the Big, Beautiful Bill because for a variety of reasons, and one, very starkly, was that that bill was a billionaire giveaway. We we have to have a fair marginal tax rate. Billionaires have got to pay their fair share. And lastly, we need a plan to lower costs for hard working Michiganders and retirees. I’ve got legislation to do that, tackling the cost of food and tackling the prices of everyday goods.

RM: When people in this country are going hungry, ethically, should billionaires exist?

HS: Well, we’re not going to be seeing someone like myself do billionaire bidding in the United States Senate, I’ll tell you that much. Tackling where and how billionaires are not paying their fair share needs to get done. We need a fair marginal tax rate. That is something that I feel very strongly about, and I feel so frustrated because we have seen this administration trample over our middle class put into place reckless tariffs that have created job insecurity and job loss.

Parts of Michigan have some of the fastest growing unemployment in the country right now because of these tariffs and the cuts to clean energy investments going into our manufacturing sector, and now we have a president who doesn’t want to open the Gordie Howe bridge—another slap in the face to our workers. We can’t be in the business of these billionaire giveaways, and we also can’t be in the business of not adjusting our tax code and fighting for labor rights.

PAC funding

RM: You say you’re not doing billionaire bidding, but you are taking corporate PAC money. That separates you from your competitors in the primary. Why?

HS: I’m deeply proud to have a campaign that has got 95% of donations that are $200 or less and those are coming from nurses and factory workers and grocery workers. I’m deeply proud to have the endorsements of the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus, former Speaker Joe Tate, the mayors of Livonia and Lansing and Grand Rapids in my campaign. And it’s it’s a grassroots endeavor. And look, you’ve got someone like Mike Rogers, who is going to continue to rubber stamp Donald Trump and stand in the way of comprehensive campaign finance reform. I have an “A” grading from the leading anti-corruption campaign finance reform organization because of my record.

RM: AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has raised millions on your behalf for this Senate run, and in past campaigns. Since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks, Israel has been accused of war crimes and genocide against the Palestinian people. How do you reconcile voting for military support for Israel when you know exactly how the Israeli military has been using it?

HS: Well, I’d say this, that the goal has always been long term peace. We have needed to see the hostages come home, which they did, and that was an incredible day. We are in the second phase of a ceasefire, and the goal is a lasting ceasefire that will mean that Hamas has to put down its weapons, and also the calls that I have made for Israel and the United States to work together on rebuilding efforts and on humanitarian aid. We need people in Gaza, Palestinian people, to have dignity and peace, just as we need people in Israel to do so.

RM: So there’s been no hesitation in taking money from AIPAC?

HS: I’m running my campaign in a grassroots way, with individual donors who participate in the democratic process in the way that our country allows. I’m proud of my record of standing up alongside democracy and freedom and humanitarian needs. You know, here in the United States and and certainly abroad.

Note: A planned question about the rights of trans people in the U.S. was withheld because Congresswoman Stevens needed to leave for another appointment.

Congresswoman Haley Stevens is vying for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan in a highly contested field. In this episode of MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben sit down with the representative to see what makes her different from her opponents. 

In this episode:

• What sets Haley Stevens apart from the other candidates for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat?
• What issues are currently affecting Michigan residents?

Correction: Congresswoman Haley Stevens is endorsed by the Mayor of Highland Park, not Hamtramck.

Overview

Stevens is often compared to other established Democrats like U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell or even Governor Gretchen Whitmer. These comparisons are sometimes used to present Stevens as out of touch with the new generation of politics. Stevens says the focus should be more on meeting the needs of Michigan residents.

“I was Michigan’s first millennial to the United States House of Representatives. I’m not an ageist. I think the goal is representing all of Michigan and getting results for Michiganders.” 

She also stated that leaders like Gov. Whitmer’s popularity alongside her own ability to get things done should be embodied.  

Stevens also addressed the comparison with her fellow Democrat opponent Mallory McMorrow, and how they seemingly appeal to the same voters.

“I think poll after poll shows I’m the only Democrat who can beat (Republican opponent) Mike Rogers,”she said. “We need a dogged advocate for Michigan. And I think some of the unique attributes that I bring to this race for the United States Senate is that I am Michigan’s workhorse.” 

The election for the open Michigan U.S. Senate seat is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.  

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