Michigan Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow became the first high-profile candidate to enter next year’s race to replace retiring US Senator Gary Peters, announcing her campaign Wednesday.

“I know there’s a lot of fear and anger and uncertainty about people in power who frankly have no business being there,” McMorrow said in a video announcement that featured images of billionaires Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.

The second-term state senator condemned “the same old crap out of Washington” and argued “we need new leaders” in the nation’s Capitol.

“The same people in DC who got us into this mess are not going to be the ones to get us out of it,” McMorrow said.

McMorrow’s campaign launch follows the recent publication of her new book, which included a tour and subsequent media junket to raise her profile.

The Royal Oak Democrat made national news in 2022 — and generated a fundraising windfall — when she took to the floor of the state Senate to speak out against a Republican colleague who had suggested she and other Democrats supporting LGBTQ rights wanted to “groom and sexualize kindergartners.”

“I want every child to feel seen, heard and supported, not marginalized and targeted because they are not straight, white and Christian,” McMorrow said in the viral speech. “We cannot let hateful people tell you otherwise to scapegoat and deflect from the fact that they are not doing anything to address the real issues that impact people’s lives.”

A moment from her speech at the 2024 Democratic National Committee also briefly became a meme when she hoisted an oversize copy of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 over her head and slammed it onto the podium.

In announcing her campaign McMorrow touted legislative accomplishments from the two years Michigan Democrats fully controlled state government as evidence of her priorities: gun control reforms, removing state income tax on some retirement income, protections for abortion and gay rights.

McMorrow first won office amid 2018’s blue wave, when she unseated GOP Sen. Marty Knollenberg in a district he had handily won four years prior.

Redistricting in 2020 paired the Royal Oak resident against a fellow Democratic incumbent, Marshall Bullock of Detroit, who she defeated in 2022 to win reelection.

Before entering politics, McMorrow worked as a designer in the toy and auto industries.

She pitched her new book, titled “Hate Won’t Win,” as a blueprint for others, like her, who are looking to run for office. She told Bridge Michigan she wrote the book early mornings over the course of a year, during quiet time while her young daughter was still asleep.

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.

Democratic US Sen. Elissa Slotkin won election last year as Peters’ counterpart by less than 20,000 votes, a 0.34% margin over Republican former US Rep. Mike Rogers.

Rogers is openly hinting he’ll run for Senate again, teasing on his campaign website that “good news is coming soon.” Tudor Dixon, the Republican nominee for Michigan governor in 2022, has also said she is contemplating running for either US Senate or governor in 2026.

On the Democratic side, US Rep. Haley Stevens, who like McMorrow is an Oakland County resident, is also reportedly gearing up for a Senate run. Abdul El-Sayed, who ran for governor in 2018, is also reportedly considering a run and is departing his current role leading Wayne County’s public health division, effective Thursday.

McMorrow is being aided in the campaign by consultant Lis Smith, who worked as an adviser on former US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign. Buttigieg recently said he wasn’t interested in running in Michigan’s open gubernatorial or senate races, in a nod toward 2028.

McMorrow is not the first major-party candidate overall to enter the US Senate race. Republican Fred Heurtebise of Luther, a one-time township clerk and welding engineer, created a campaign committee last month and is running on full-throated support for President Donald Trump’s agenda.

This article is being republished through a syndication agreement with Bridge Michigan. Bridge Michigan is Michigan’s largest nonprofit news service and one of the nation’s leading and largest nonprofit civic news providers. Their coverage is nonpartisan, fact-based, and data-driven. Find them online at  https://www.bridgemi.com/.