MI-SEN: In Michigan, Democratic women are rising. Now some are weighing a Senate run.

[RandySF]

Nearly half a century later, Stabenow, who won that county election and went on to become the first woman to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate, is retiring from Congress. Her decision has set off a scramble for her seat in a state where Democratic women have become a dominant political force, propelled by a new generation of officeholders.

Several prominent Democratic women are now deciding whether to run for the seat in 2024. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D), 46, is moving swiftly toward a run, calling party leaders across the state to tout her victories in hard-fought House races as evidence of her ability to win statewide, according to half a dozen Democrats with knowledge of her activities. These Democrats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, said they expect her to announce her candidacy in the near future. Slotkin has said publicly that she’s “seriously considering it.”

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, 45, who became the face of Michigan’s defense against then-President Trump’s false claims in 2020 that the presidency had been stolen from him, is looking at the race. Benson oversaw the election and afterward, she defended the election systems, even as she faced armed protesters. Democratic Reps. Haley Stevens, 39, and Debbie Dingell, 69, are looking too.

“I’ve told people I won’t say no yet,” Dingell said in an interview. “There are a lot of people with a lot of thoughts about this … I’ve had a lot of phone calls.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), 51, fresh off a decisive reelection and seen widely in the party as a potential future presidential candidate, has ruled out a run for Senate. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, 36, who became a national figure in 2022 with a viral speech denouncing a Republican colleague’s incendiary personal attacks, hasn’t fully closed the door on the idea, but said in an interview that she’s eager to see what a Democratic majority in state government will accomplish during the next two years.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2023/01/19/michigan-women-senate-slotkin-stabenow-stevens-mcmorrow/

[Victor_c3]

1. When the demographics of all elected officials matches that of the people they represents

I’ll feel that we have a near ideal democracy.

Roughly half the population is female so it goes that roughly half of our elected officials should be women too. The same goes for minorities.

As a middle-aged white man, I personally welcome the shift.