Michigan State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh kicked off her campaign to succeed retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow with a Tuesday announcement highlighting the fact that Congress' upper chamber currently doesn’t have a single Black woman as a member—a state of affairs she says she’s eager to change by becoming the state’s first African American senator.
Pugh acknowledged to the Detroit News that she was in for a “tough race” as she prepares to do battle with the apparent frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, but insisted she was “up for it.” Her entry upends a narrative advanced by Stabenow and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that Slotkin would enjoy a clear path to the general election thanks to their backstage maneuvering, which in March prompted Politico to conclude—prematurely, it seems—that the primary was “nearly over already.”
While it remains to be seen whether Pugh can in fact prevail, she brings a high profile to the contest. Pugh first earned an eight-year term on the eight-person education board by finishing first on the ballot in 2014. (The board's members are elected statewide every two years in a contest where voters cast two votes and the top-two finishers are elected.) However, her most prominent role came when Flint Mayor Karen Warren appointed Pugh, who is a former official at the Saginaw County Department of Public Health, to serve as her chief public health adviser in 2016 as the city dealt with its water crisis.
Pugh stepped down from her position in Flint in 2019, and three years later, she once again placed first when she sought reelection to the Board of Education. Soon afterwards, she was chosen by her colleagues to serve as the body's president, but her name surfaced earlier this year for a much higher office following Stabenow's retirement.
Pugh’s consideration of a Senate bid came at a time when, following Rep. Brenda Lawrence’s retirement early this year, there were no Black Democrats in Michigan’s congressional delegation for the first time since 1955. (Republican Rep. John James represents part of the Detroit suburbs.) “I think it would be a shame if we have not at least put some backing behind … a Black woman who would be in the U.S. Senate,” she told Politico, noting, “And there are none at this time.”
However, that changed earlier this month when former state Rep. Leslie Love launched her own campaign. Neither Pugh nor Love appears to have said anything publicly about the other’s campaign, though the Detroit-based Love also emphasized her desire to elect a candidate from southeastern Michigan. (Slotkin represents the Lansing area, while Pugh’s Saginaw home is located even further to the north.)
Actor Hill Harper, who is also Black, is eyeing the race as well, though Love alleged that “The Good Doctor” cast member "has never lived in Michigan and has no experience at all in politics or government” in comments to the Toledo Blade last month. (Harper, who met Barack Obama in law school and says he remains friends with the former president, bought a home in Detroit in 2018 and has said he's raising his son there.)
Slotkin, who is white, has argued that she can appeal to Black voters. “All I can do is introduce myself to leaders in places like Detroit and Flint," she said at her campaign kickoff in March, "and demonstrate that I care and I'm willing to fight on issues that are really important to people.” The field also includes Nasser Beydoun, a former head of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce who characterizes himself as a “moderate.”
One big question looming over the primary is whether any of Slotkin’s opponents can bring in enough money not just to compete with her in this expensive state but to establish themselves as her main rival. The congresswoman finished March with $2.3 million in the bank, and she proved during three competitive House campaigns that she can raise much more. New quarterly fundraising reports are due July 15.
