Haley Stevens runs for US Senate, vowing to fight ‘Trump-Musk chaos agenda’

• US Rep. Haley is running for Michigan’s open US Senate seat
• Stevens, of Birmingham, is the third Democrat to launch a campaign to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters
• Stevens was first elected to Congress in 2018 but says she wants to join the Senate to step up fight against ‘Trump-Musk agenda’

LANSING — US Rep. Haley Stevens announced Tuesday she is running for Michigan’s open US Senate seat, becoming the third Democrat to enter the high-stakes 2026 race to replace Sen. Gary Peters. 

In an interview with Bridge Michigan ahead of her campaign launch, Stevens said she is running for the post “to stand up to the Trump-Musk agenda,” referring to the Republican president and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk.

“This is a very serious moment for Michigan, and we have found ourselves in a moment of deep uncertainty stemming from the Trump-Musk chaos agenda,” Stevens said. 

The Birmingham Democrat is placing her connections to the automotive industry and the manufacturing sector center in her campaign. 

Stevens was chief of staff for the task force that ferried Detroit automakers through bankruptcy in the Great Recession. While she served under the decision-making appointees, she still touts the experience regularly — and her campaign launch video includes a clip of former President Barack Obama praising her work.

Stevens has also indicated she intends to run on a more moderate platform than some of her opponents in the Democratic primary, emphasizing the cost of living and a focus on protecting benefit programs. 

The fourth-term lawmaker flipped the prior 11th House district to first win office during 2018′s “blue wave,” then held that seat through the pandemic in 2020. After she was redistricted into a primary against fellow Democratic incumbent Andy Levin, she easily defeated him with nearly 60% of the vote.

Related:

• Mike Rogers runs again for US Senate in Michigan, vowing to ‘stand with’ Trump
• Abdul El-Sayed on US Senate run: ‘If you want a fighter, I’ve got receipts’
• Mallory McMorrow on Michigan US Senate run: ‘New leaders’ need to fix ‘mess’

In a moment where Democrats have not been totally unified in their response to the second Trump administration, Stevens is not looking to be prescriptive, either, she told Bridge. 

When asked about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s willingness to work with Trump, Stevens declined to give her opinion on that approach but said “when it's right for Michigan, I'm going to stand up.”

Stevens said she is instead focused on trying to build unity within the Democratic Party, as “we're facing unbelievable threats to people's jobs, to job insecurity brought on by radical cuts to people's own benefits.”

“What we need to do is make sure that this agenda doesn't go forward, that we do not get cuts to Medicaid and Medicare,” she said, referencing potential spending cuts under plans advancing in the GOP-led Congress.

Peters, Michigan’s senior senator, stunned Democrats in January by announcing he would not seek a third term in 2026, opening up a seat in one of the nation’s most politically competitive states. Republicans currently control Congress’ upper chamber with 53 of 100 seats, and Michigan’s election is expected to be hotly contested.

Stevens joins a Democratic primary field that so far includes former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.

Stevens has taken flak from some on the left wing of her party for receiving millions of dollars in direct and independent support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a group that’s stridently pro-Israel. In her 2022 primary, the group spent several million dollars to support her and attack Levin, who said he supported Israel but had criticized the country’s leadership. 

The ongoing war in Gaza should end, Stevens told Bridge, saying she wants to see Israeli hostages returned along with “an enduring ceasefire that will allow for true peace for the Palestinian people and for Israelis.”

Former US Rep. Mike Rogers, who lost to now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin in 2024 by less than 20,000 votes last year, is the only declared Republican candidate for 2026, but others have publicly expressed interest, including US Rep. Bill Huizenga and former gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon.

Rogers “does not have our backs, and I am the person to beat him,” Stevens said.

Her campaign accounts may offer a small leg up: She reported having nearly $1.7 million in the bank at the end of March. That represents only a small piece of what she’ll likely need to win a campaign, however: Slokin raised $52 million for her winning US Senate race last year, while Rogers raised about $13 million in defeat.