Michigan Senate Race: Can These 3 Democrats Deliver on Affordability?!

**SAGINAW, Mich.** – Remember the economic anxieties that fueled Donald Trump's rise to power in 2016, and then again in 2024? Well, they're back, simmering beneath the surface in battleground states like Michigan. And this time, Democrats are hoping to capitalize on them. The big question is, who has the right recipe to win over voters increasingly worried about the cost of everything?

Michigan Senate Race: Can These 3 Democrats Delive...

This is especially true here in Michigan, where the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters is heating up. Three Democrats – U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, and physician Abdul El-Sayed – are battling it out for the nomination. Their success, or failure, in tackling these economic anxieties will be crucial to the party's chances in November's midterm elections, where control of Congress is up for grabs. Keeping Peters' seat blue is absolutely vital.

I recently caught up with Haley Stevens at a union training workshop in Saginaw. She was sporting a welding helmet – looking surprisingly comfortable, I might add – and watching a plumbing apprentice demonstrate his skills. Stevens, whose district sits in the heart of Michigan's auto industry, is leaning heavily on her ties with organized labor. Her argument? Trump's trade wars are hurting Michigan's manufacturing sector and driving up prices for everyone.

"He’s been more focused on cutting deals all over the world than cutting deals here in Michigan, and now we have job insecurity and in some cases job loss," Stevens told me, her voice rising slightly above the din of the workshop. She later emphasized the importance of investing in infrastructure and creating jobs to address the aging systems, promising to secure funding for that purpose.

Justin Pomerville, the business manager at UA Local 85, echoed a sentiment I've been hearing a lot lately: frustration with both the "far left" and the "far right." This plays right into Stevens' strategy of positioning herself as a moderate, a pragmatic problem-solver. It's a tricky balancing act, but it might just be what Michigan voters are looking for.

Meanwhile, down in Flint, Mallory McMorrow was holding a campaign event in a cozy, dimly lit side room of a local bar. As the 80s classic "Jesse's Girl" played in the background, her team scrambled to find extra chairs as more people squeezed in. McMorrow, who gained national attention for her fiery speeches in the state Senate, is taking a different approach. She's hosting campaign events at breweries across the state, connecting with voters on a more personal level, and really trying to show she is relatable to the average Michigander.