LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – James Craig, the former police chief of Detroit for eight years, has decided to suspend his Republican campaign for the Michigan U.S. Senate seat which is currently held by retiring Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow.
In an interview with the Detroit News on Tuesday, Craig cited a lack of resources as the primary reason for his withdrawal, expressing difficulty in acquiring and validating the necessary 15,000 petition signatures required to qualify for the state’s August primary.
Fundraising was a problem.
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As of the end of 2023, Craig’s Senate campaign had a mere $28,000 in funds and he had only raised $60,581 during the entire year.
In discussing his decision, the ex-police chief acknowledged the difficult challenge of fundraising, emphasizing the financial constraints that influenced his choice to exit the race. This development comes after Craig’s unsuccessful gubernatorial bid in 2022 where he faced disqualification from the ballot due to insufficient valid petition signatures.
He told the Associated Press, “This is strictly a business decision. I’m not leaving because I felt like I didn’t have the support. But from a business end, you need funds to run a campaign.”
He also added that he’s “strongly considering” running in Detroit’s mayoral election next year.
Michigan Republicans running to be in the senate.
With Craig stepping aside, the Republican candidate pool narrows down – but not a whole lot. There are still eight Republican candidates running for the senate seat:
• Michael Hoover – Former Dow Chemical employee
• Peter Meijer – Former congressman
• Sherry O’Donnell – Former congressional candidate/Michigan State chair for U.S. Term Limits
• Sandy Pensler – Detroit-area businessman
• Mike Rogers – Former congressman/former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee
• Nikki Snyder – Board of Education member
• Alexandria Taylor – Romulus criminal attorney
• Sharon Savage – Former Warren Consolidated School District employee
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Ex-Representative Justin Amash from Michigan has also recently mentioned that he was contemplating entering the race, having initiated an exploratory committee last month.
Democratic competitor has a financial advantage.
The winning Republican nominee would likely go head-to-head with Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the November election as she is the frontrunner in the Democratic Senate race. Other Democrats still in the running against her include businessman Nasser Beydoun and actor Hill Harper.
If Slotkin secures the Democratic nomination, the GOP nominee faces a challenging path, given Slotkin’s formidable financial standing. She raised nearly $12 million in the previous year and boasted a $6 million campaign war chest as of January 1st.
Although no Republican has claimed a U.S. Senate seat in the state for the past three decades, the race is currently very tight. As of January 10th, a survey from the Detroit News and WDIV-TV found no distinct victor in various hypothetical scenarios pitting Democratic Slotkin against three prominent Republican candidates for the seat – Craig, Rogers or Meijer.
