Inspired by a new generation of leaders, I have decided to pass the torch in the U.S. Senate. I am announcing today that I will not seek re-election and will leave the U.S. Senate at the end of my term on January 3, 2025.
Read my full statement:https://t.co/qYJE6lyRJ3 pic.twitter.com/Fq659Aevs0
— Sen. Debbie Stabenow (@SenStabenow) January 5, 2023
We moved away from Michigan so long ago (1989) that I can’t even guess which Democrat will replace her, but I’m still proud to say that I voted for Stabenow starting with her very first race (for county commissioner). She’s never been a national ‘name’, but she’s always been a great Senator for her state, and this early announcement of her retirement shows how it should be done:
Stabenow tells @marianne_levine, @meredithllee that 2022 Dem performance in Michigan animated her decision
“we did so well and we had such wonderful new leaders coming in, I felt confident … it’s important to pass the torch at the right time” https://t.co/Y2jBoMVE9V
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 5, 2023
When I say a deep bench, consider (this list isn’t even remotely exhaustive):
–Slotkin
–Stevens
–Kildee
–Levin
–Whitmer
–Benson
–Nessel
–McMorrow
–Moss
–Bayer
–Brinks
–Chang
–Geiss
–Polehanki
–Duggan
…just for starters.— Charles Gaba (Had a blue check pre-11/07/22) (@charles_gaba) January 5, 2023
Mark my words: The chances of Senator Stabenow’s replacement not being a woman are approximately 0%, and this is precisely why. She was the original trailblazing Woman from Michigan! https://t.co/K5Uu8gTi3N
— Dhaaruni ??? (@dhaaruni) January 5, 2023
Senator Debbie Stabenow was the first woman that Michigan sent to the Senate, but she won’t be the last. Thank you, @SenStabenow, for fighting by our side. https://t.co/Q7XRSG6JfC
— Mini Timmaraju (@mintimm) January 5, 2023
Stabenow’s reputed choice for her replacement:
For almost 50 years, Debbie Stabenow has brought her tireless spirit and passion for Michigan to public service. As the first woman elected to represent our state in the U.S. Senate, she’s been our mentor, our leader, and our trailblazer. 1/3
— Rep. Elissa Slotkin (@RepSlotkin) January 5, 2023
Her record of accomplishment is simply unmatched, and her voice will sorely missed in the Congress. 3/3
— Rep. Elissa Slotkin (@RepSlotkin) January 5, 2023
Other potential candidates:
I’m so proud to call Senator Stabenow a friend. Over her tenure in Congress, she tirelessly worked to further the cause of working Americans—and she always delivered.
Thank you for your service, @stabenow. pic.twitter.com/1mn4gXyq5W
— Hillary Scholten (@HillaryScholten) January 5, 2023
This is a @SenStabenow appreciation post! Senator Stabenow is a trailblazer and the absolute best of us. And let’s be clear, no one has been more instrumental in building up the infrastructure for the Michigan Democratic Party to this historic moment we’re in today. 1/ pic.twitter.com/GvmiGvY2Wi
— Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) January 5, 2023
*Not* going to contest this seat:
A spokesperson for Governor Whitmer tells CBS News she is not running for Senator Stabenow’s seat.
— aaron navarro (@aaronlarnavarro) January 5, 2023
The Buttigieg running in Michigan thing was always mostly a Twitter-centric fantasy. He’s relocated there because his in laws nearby where he and his husband are raising their adopted twins, not as part of a calculated carpetbagger strategy.
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) January 5, 2023
the idea Ds will lose Stabenow’s seat even if Biden loses the state is nuts
— the abbot of unreason (an archaeologist) 🥬 (@merovingians) January 7, 2023
The ‘business’ (libertarian) Repubs had a death grip on state politics for a couple of decades (which is one of the main reasons we fled the state), but the rise of the Qrazy Caucus authoritarians have not done the party or themselves any favors in recent contests. Per Crain’s Detroit Business:
… Republicans see the announcement as an opportunity to flip a seat in a chamber that has seen only one Republican Michigan senator in the past 44 years, Spencer Abraham…
The GOP’s bench of current elected officials includes first-term Rep. John James of Farmington Hills, who ran for the Senate twice before, second-term Rep. Lisa McClain of Romeo and seventh-term Rep. Bill Huizenga of Ottawa County.
Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller, a former congresswoman and secretary of state whom some Republicans wanted to run for governor, ruled out a Senate run.
Other possibilities include former one-term Rep. Peter Meijer of Grand Rapids; Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who lives in Michigan; former attorneys general Mike Cox and Bill Schuette; former state Sen. Tom Barrett of Charlotte, who squared off against Slotkin; and various 2022 gubernatorial candidates, including self-funders Perry Johnson and Kevin Rinke.
Republican gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon, who lost to Whitmer in the fall, said Stabenow’s retirement “gives Republicans the chance to coalesce behind a strong candidate, put in the work on the ground now, and prove why Joe Biden’s runaway spending and record of failure are hurting hardworking Michiganders.” A person with knowledge of her thinking said she is not ruling anything out but is focused on helping Republicans win in 2024.
There is plenty of time to contemplate. The filing deadline to run will be in April 2024, more than 15 months from now.
I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next!
Ohio Mom
I am a little jealous of Michigan. It borders Ohio and though it has lots of right wing nuts in its northern hinterlands, it is turning Bluer as Ohio turns Redder.
IIRC, Michigan did their redistricting correctly, while we made a mess of that, setting it up in a way the Republicans in Columbus could exploit. But that doesn’t excuse statewide elections like those for governor or senator.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Big talk for someone who got absolutely spanked
WaterGirl
Smart to announce two years in advance so no one has to scramble. Happy to see both Pete Buttigieg and Governor Whitmer put the kibosh on rumors that they will run. It seems to me that they are both in more powerful positions than they would be as senator.
WaterGirl
Who are the new leaders Stabenow is referring to, I wonder. My head is so full of the House right now that I can’t think of anyone new in the Senate besides Fetterman.
Jackie
I’m rooting for feisty Mallory McMorrow.
WaterGirl
@Jackie: I have no idea who she is. Tell us about her?
edit: I have been reminded of who she is, thanks to everyone who replied.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Ohio Mom:
You’re not kidding. The Dem county commissioner up for reelection where I lived just barely eked out a win last November and she’s been in office for decades. This is Youngstown Ohio, basically. The whole state has become more right wing and I think aging demographics and the fact of how white the state is has lot to do with it.
I think abortion rights being protected in Michigan is a very good thing for Ohio women
ian
@WaterGirl: McMorrow gave an abortion rights speech that went viral a year or two ago.
Here is a youtube clip of her giving a TV interview
Edit: I think she is a state senator
WaterGirl
@ian: Thank you. I recall the speech, but hadn’t remembered the name!
Jackie
@WaterGirl: She’s the Democratic state senator who ripped into a Republican state senator who basically accused her of being a *groomer* at about the time DeSantis started calling Democratic woke teachers groomers.
She also worked her butt off fundraising to help change Michigan’s state congress from Republican to Democratic – and was successful.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iLWo8B1R0MY
jefft452
Big Gretch is more POTUS material then Senator material
Ken
Tell me about it. At first glance I thought Charles Gaba’s post was listing the never-Kevins again.
WaterGirl
@jefft452: Absolutely!
WaterGirl
@Ken: Maybe some of them will fall out of our ears when we sleep tonight. :-)
TriassicSands
Thanks to Senator Stabenow for her long record of public service. She is doing the right thing by retiring. We need strong senators who aren’t at risk of cognitive decline or death in office from old age (see Diane Feinstein, the prime example of someone who hung on far too long while representing a state where her replacement would very likely be a better senator than she has been).
My own senator, Patty Murray, whom I have been happy to vote for over the past couple of decades, has just been re-elected in what will, I hope, be her last term. She is now the senator pro tempore, but she’s also 72-years-old. Another term would take her into her eighties. I’ve always opposed term limits for elected officials, but I would support a mandatory retirement age. I hope that she too will announce her retirement at a time when potential successors will have adequate opportunity to prepare.
If we’re fortunate, we all grow old, but after a point, the importance of experience gives way to the reality of age. In Nancy Pelosi’s case, I don’t wish she hadn’t given up her leadership position, but rather that she were only 60-years-old instead of in her eighties. I would expect that this will be her last term. She’ll be sorely missed, but her replacement, Hakeem Jeffries, has great potential. The worst thing imaginable for such an accomplished Speaker would be for her to fall into decline while still in a leadership position. As a regular representative it should be easier to announce her inevitable retirement. Democrats owe her a huge thank you.
lowtechcyclist
@WaterGirl:
She may be referring to the House.
MomSense
@Ohio Mom:
I’m so sad about Ohio. My mom’s family is all from the Akron area.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@MomSense:
On a more positive note, I’m happy for you guys in Maine. Congratulations on reelecting Janet Mills
Anne Laurie
All the Michigander (mostly) women controlling the state offices right now — see Charles Gaba’s tweet just below Stabenow’s.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sec. of State Jocelyn Benson, Attorney General Dana Nessel, Reps. Slotkin / Stossel, state Rep. Mallory McMorrow, et al.
They’re all more than capable of moving up to national office — not exactly a high bar, given the Repubs now in the House of Representatives!
Geminid
Elise Slotkin is a member of the talented Democratic House Class of 2018. I don’t know if Michigan Democrats will choose Ms. Slotkin to run for this Senator Stabenow’s seat, but I think many in that group will serve in higher office, or like Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, in Cabinet positions. Those who don’t will still do valuable work in the House.
MomSense
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Thank you! We picked up more legislature seats, too. 2024 is going to be a slog in CD2, though. They’ve voted for TFG last two elections.
Fake Irishman
That clip where she steals Barrasso’s lunch money over the Affordable Care Act is my all-time favorite use of the middle school “your Mom!” taunt.
As a long-time Michigander, I was really impressed by the quality of Dem elected official there since 2010. I remember meeting Mark Schauer and Whitmer each one time over separate issues and thanking them for tough votes on tough issues. Schauer literally told me “I sleep soundly at night.” about his ACA vote that probably cost him his house seat.
Geminid
@MomSense: Jared Golden did well to well to hang on to that seat the last two cycles. Like Elise Slotkin of Michigan, Golden rode the 2018 Blue Wave into the House. Is he becoming well known in the district? Is he popular among Democrats there?
Jackie
@Geminid: Elise Slotkin refused to vote for Pelosi and voted Present. I know that ultimately Nancy didn’t need to rely on her vote, but I still have less respect for Slotkin, regardless. I do give her credit for refusing to state publicly what her issues were regarding Nancy as Speaker.
Currants
Props for this: Stabenow was GOLD for food insecurity and more on the Farm Bill.
columbusqueen
But one does have to enjoy the spectacle of the Dem house caucus joining with the 22 less crazy Repubs to kill off the crazy choice for Speaker here in Columbus. Now if we can just get the state party whipped into shape!
MomSense
@Geminid:
Poliquin is a rich, arrogant guy who had a tree farm/tax issue and only rented a place in CD2 both elections. Golden is a gun loving conservadem who did ok (thanks to ranked choice) but I’m not confident if he went up against a better candidate.
Geminid
@Jackie: Nancy Pelosi let it be known that she had no problem with Slotkin, Sherrill and others who were trying to flip red districts, telling voters they would not vote for her to be Speaker. My attitude is, if Nancy Pelosi had no problem with that, why should I?
But I live in a purple district and I often see these things differently than do other people.
Geminid
@MomSense:
“gunloving conservadem”
Sounds like Jared Golden has not entirely won the hearts and minds of Maine Democrats!
Yutsano
The first name that popped into my head when I heard Stabenow was retiring is Jennifer Granholm.
Don K
@Jackie: My ideal result is my Congressperson, Haley Stevens, runs for Senator, and McMorrow runs for Congress from this district. I’d also like to see my ex-Congressperson, Andy Levin, run for Senator to keep progressive ideas in focus.
I’ve read there are two kinds of Senators – workhorses and showhorses. Stabenow was the former type, getting results for Michigan without feeling the need to be on TV every day and night.
WaterGirl
@Anne Laurie: I assumed she meant leaders in the Senate, not leaders in Michigan.