McMorrow Versus Stevens In Democratic Primary '26?

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/02/2025) Could there be a Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) v. U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) race in the Democratic primary in 2026?

Stevens said Tuesday an announcement will be made soon in relation to her possible interest in running to replace U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Oakland County) now that he's retiring.

Stevens' press release, where she touted an upcoming announcement, highlighted raising $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2025 after Peters shared he would not seek re-election next year. She also noted that before running in 2018, she worked for President Barack OBAMA on the "auto rescue" during the 2008 financial crisis.

Stevens and McMorrow have similar backgrounds.

In 2018, McMorrow defeated incumbent Sen. Marty Knollenberg – a Troy Republican – by 5,348 votes in a competitive Oakland County district, covering Rochester Hills, Birmingham and Royal Oak. That same year, Stevens won in a district previously represented by David Trott, a Birmingham Republican, later becoming a vocal critic of President Donald TRUMP. 

In the district Stevens first won in – covering Oakland County communities like Novi, Walled Lake, Troy, Birmingham and Milford – Trump defeated Democrat Hillary CLINTON 50 percent to 45 percent in 2016.

Tony Zammit, the communications manager for Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, said a McMorrow-versus-Stevens primary would be a slug fest. While normally one might think there's "no contest whatsoever" between a Congress member and a state legislator, he said he thinks McMorrow is one of the most talented politicians in Michigan.

"Haley Stevens – she's got that Washington experience. She has a fundraising network that is pretty vast," he said. "I think McMorrow, again, (is) a little bit more of the darling of the progressive base here in Michigan, and so she might have an easier time getting volunteers and building a little bit more of a grassroots army."

Lori Goldman, a Beverly Hills resident and founder of Fems for Dems, a hub of thousands of activists, said she's putting her weight and whatever influence she has behind McMorrow.

"She's smart, and she espouses our values," Goldman said. "Our new board is very focused on changing things to make the biggest impact, and that is aligning with other groups to try to build our momentum to help candidates and to come out early."

Goldman described feeling frustrated with Democratic politicians trying to appear as Trump-friendly moderates, calling collaborations with Trump the same as “jumping into a volcano in a gasoline suit. It's stupid."

Goldman said for women in Michigan's suburban neighborhoods, like in Oakland County, their top issues include Social Security, healthcare and voting rights.

For her own children, Goldman explained she spends more than $200 on each of her three teenagers' healthcare, monthly. She added that the women in her organization are alarmed by Trump's approach to immigration as well, upset by headlines of individuals being removed in school and college campus settings.

"If she skewed to the right like the rest of them are going, I wouldn't support her," Goldman said. "I think she's smart enough to know she has to talk about kitchen table issues that matter to people."