Stevens Announces U.S. Senate Run; Woodward Thinks About MI-11

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/22/2025) U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), a fourth-term member of Congress, announced Tuesday morning her bid for the U.S. Senate, becoming the third big-name Democrat to declare for the post.

Touting her ties to Michigan's auto industry from an early age to her time as chief of staff of Barack Obama's Auto Task Force in the Great Recession, Stevens played up in her two-minute introductory video the fact that she's from the state.

“(It's) the Michigan that shaped me. It's not just what I sound like, it's who I am,” Stevens said.

After having recorded parts of the video last week, Stevens talked at a press conference at Corewell Health's Beaumont University Hospital about her commitments as a fourth-term member of Congress.

“I'm going to continue to not only fight for Medicaid, but I'm going to continue to fight to expand it," she said. “I'm going to fight for the families who walk through this door. I'm going to fight for the medical professionals. I'm going to fight for the janitor, who's keeping this place clean.”

In her fundraising email, Stevens stressed her ability to win in competitive districts.

“Right now, The Cook Political Report is rating our race as a 'Toss Up,” she wrote. “That means we’re already one of the GOP’s top targets for defeat. Just last year, they spent nearly $80 million trying to buy Michigan’s Senate seat and came up only 0.3% short, so I need your early support to win.”

Stevens graduated from Seaholm High School in Birmingham. She earned a master’s degree in social policy and philosophy and a bachelor’s in political science and philosophy from American University in Washington D.C. She lived in Chicago for about six years after graduation before coming back to Southeast Michigan shortly before running for Congress, according to a review of public records.

Prior to her public service, she led a national workforce development program and created the country's first online training program for digital manufacturing.

Stevens, 42, joins state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) and Abdul El-Sayed in Democrats seeking the nomination to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Oakland County).

She has had successes in past competitive Democratic primaries, defeating former House Minority Leader Tim Greimel and three other candidates in 2018 with 26.97 percent of the vote before she was an elected official. In 2022, she won convincingly against then-U.S. Rep. Andy Levin after the two were drawn into the same district.

Woodward Considering MI-11 Seat

With Stevens running for the U.S. Senate, Oakland County Board of Commission Chair Dave Woodward is considering a run for Congress in Stevens' 11th Congressional District. Woodward has been the chair of the county commission since 2019 and a commissioner since 2005. Prior to that, the former chair of Oakland County Democratic Party and lifelong Oakland County resident was a state representative (1999-2004).

“Right now, particularly at this moment in history, our country and our community need proven leadership," Woodward said. "Not just to stand up to Donald Trump and the havoc his recklessness is causing for households and businesses across Oakland County, but to stand up for our shared values and chart a course toward a future where all working families can prosper.”

A small business owner, Woodward is married to an educator. They are raising their two teenage daughters.