Mallory McMorrow suspends campaign for U.S. Senate: "I'm not giving up the fight"

LANSING (WWJ) State Senator Mallory McMorrow announced she has suspended her campaign for U.S. Senate.

The second-term Democratic State Senator released a statement announcing her suspension from the primaries on Sunday, July 5. She was a distant third in the polls behind her opponents Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Doctor Abdul El-Sayed to fill the seat of outgoing Senator Gary Peters.

"I'm suspending my campaign, but not giving up the fight," McMorrow wrote in her statement.

She thanked her volunteers and her donors, who helped her raise more than $11 million from more than 150,000 people, according to her campaign.

However, she saved her biggest gratitude for her family, especially her five-year-old daughter Noa.

"Every morning, when I leave for work, (Noa) runs to the front window to wave goodbye... and every time, it reminds me of the only thing that actually matters: everything I do, I do for her."

She wrote of the future she envisions for Michigan children: "Where childhood belongs to children again — where a kid gets to be 10 years old, curious and free, instead of a product sold to the highest bidder by companies that built machines and apps to capture their attention and never give it back. I see kids who grow up unafraid — who never have to watch their friends gunned down in school, or watch someone they love dragged away by masked agents."

The Royal Oak resident was a small business owner, industrial designer and creative designer. She said politics was not on in her plans until the 2016 presidential election: "I picked up my phone and typed five words into a search bar: “How to run for office.”

"That’s where this started. No machine. No big donors. No one in a back room deciding it was my turn. Just a woman who decided being angry wasn’t enough," she said."...And I learned the only thing that has ever really changed this country: ordinary people who love something enough to fight for it."

Her opponents Stevens and El-Sayed both released statements after McMorrow dropped out.

Stevens said McMorrow has her "respect" and she looks forward to working with her (McMorrow) going forward: "McMorrow has been an important voice, both in this race and in the State Senate, for policies that benefit Michigan’s children and families."

El-Sayed said: "While we have policy disagreements, I never questioned whether Senator McMorrow would fight for a better America for my daughters and hers."

Both candidates encouraged McMorrow's supporters to join their campaigns. The winner of the primary will face off against businessman and former Congressman Mike Rogers in the November mid-term election.

McMorrow vowed to continue advocating for Michigan's children: "I love this country. I love Michigan. And I love a little girl who waves at me from the window every morning, trusting the grown-ups to leave her a state and a country worth inheriting."

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McMorrow's full statement:
Suspending this campaign, not leaving the fight

Today, I’m announcing that I am suspending my campaign for United States Senate.

And I’m doing it with a deep, deep sense of gratitude. For our thousands of volunteers across the great state of Michigan — so many of you who told me this campaign was what inspired you to get involved for the very first time. For the over 150,000 of you who donated from all 83 counties and all fifty states — five dollars, ten dollars, whatever you could — building a campaign with zero corporate PAC dollars, because you believed we could be more powerful than a broken system where the wealthiest have the most say. For my staff, who built this team up from nothing — who took a real risk on a scrappy state Senator who had never run for federal or statewide office before, going up against two people who had. I thank you.

And for my family, who didn’t ask for any of this, but who went in eyes wide open and with more love than I could have ever imagined. My siblings, who had to read about their sister all over the internet. My mom, who never missed a single TV interview. My dad, who drove up for every fundraiser and canvass he could make. My husband Ray, who believed in me long before I ever believed in myself, who has sacrificed more for this journey than I could ever share, and who never — ever — let go of that belief. I thank you.

But there’s one more person I have to thank.

Every morning, when I leave for work, my five-year-old daughter Noa runs to the front window to wave goodbye.
Some mornings I’m already out the door — late, arms full, head full of the day — and I turn around, and there she is. Still in her jammies. Barefoot on the driveway. Just to give me one more hug before I go.

And every time, it reminds me of the only thing that actually matters: everything I do, I do for her.

Recently, on the way to another campaign event, Noa said to me: “Remember, Mom — it’s not about if you win. It’s about trying hard and having fun.”

She’s right. So I want to be very clear about what this announcement is not. While I may be suspending this campaign, I am not leaving this fight.

I never planned on politics. The night of the 2016 election, I lay in bed feeling what a lot of you felt — like the country I thought I lived in had become a place I didn’t recognize. And I had a choice: stay heartbroken, or do something. So I picked up my phone and typed five words into a search bar: “How to run for office.”

That’s where this started. No machine. No big donors. No one in a back room deciding it was my turn. Just a woman who decided being angry wasn’t enough.

And here’s what I learned: when regular people get in the fight, they make a difference. In my very first election, we beat an entrenched Republican incumbent — in a district he’d carried by sixteen points.

Then, four years later, we flipped the Michigan Senate for the first time in nearly forty years. And we didn’t stop at winning. We repealed Michigan’s abortion ban. We raised the minimum wage. We expanded civil rights, voting rights. We made sure every child in Michigan gets breakfast and lunch at school.

And as gun violence became the number one killer of our kids, we took on the NRA – and even opposition in our own party – and we passed the strongest gun safety laws in our state’s history.

None of that happened because of one election, one bill, or one person. It took legislators who did the work years before there was a path. It took thousands of organizers and volunteers who showed up even when it was nerve-wracking. Every issue — no matter how big or how small — takes all of us. Every single day. And a refusal to give up when there are setbacks.

That’s why I’m staying in this fight. And it’s why I need you to stay in it with me.

Because everywhere I’ve been this past year — breweries, union halls, living rooms — from Macomb to Manistee — people tell me versions of the same story: “I did everything right, and I’m still getting screwed.” And here’s the truth too many in my own party won’t say: Donald Trump didn’t start this. This was decades in the making — decisions by both parties that left people so far behind, a lot of them decided they’d rather blow the system up than trust it one more time.

So no — I’m not interested in putting the pieces back where they were. The way things were wasn’t working for any of us. We need to build something new — something that finally works for everyone.

I haven’t been shy about calling for new leadership and a better Democratic party. I mean it. The energy is there. People are crying out for change. We owe it to them to listen.

But today, I want to talk about what we’re fighting for. Because it’s not enough to say what we’re fighting against — and we can’t ask people to fight for a future they can’t see.

So here’s the future that I see. It’s a Michigan where a kid growing up in any corner of this state has the same shot as a kid growing up anywhere on earth. Where childhood belongs to children again — where a kid gets to be 10 years old, curious and free, instead of a product sold to the highest bidder by companies that built machines and apps to capture their attention and never give it back. I see kids who grow up unafraid — who never have to watch their friends gunned down in school, or watch someone they love dragged away by masked agents. And I see a kid born in this state who can actually afford to build a life here — a home, a family, a future that doesn’t require leaving the place that raised them.

Every generation throughout this country’s history has given their kids more than they were given. We’re the first being told to expect less — to dream smaller. I’ve never accepted that. And I’m not about to start now.

So here’s what I’ll be doing — and what I hope you’ll do with me — every day from now until November 3rd.

I’ll be fighting to hold this Senate seat and send Mike Rogers back to Florida for good. That means whoever wins this primary on August 4th will have my full support — and I’m asking you to join me in making that same pledge.

But we won’t stop there. We’ll elect Jocelyn Benson as our next Governor. We’ll flip the state House, and we’ll expand our majority in the state Senate. We will elect Democrats up and down the ticket and show the rest of this country what it means to fight like Michigan.

Ten years ago, I started this work heartbroken, typing five words into a search bar. And I learned the only thing that has ever really changed this country: ordinary people who love something enough to fight for it — refusing to wait for permission, and refusing to be deterred when one door closes, because so many others are open, waiting for you to walk through them.

Today, at the 250th birthday of a country founded on the radical idea that all men — and women — are created equal, that we are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness — let’s recommit ourselves to this fight.

I love this country. I love Michigan. And I love a little girl who waves at me from the window every morning, trusting the grown-ups to leave her a state and a country worth inheriting.

That’s who I’m fighting for.

And I’m not going anywhere. I hope you’ll join me.
— Mallory

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Haley Stevens' statement

“Anyone who raises their hand to serve the people of Michigan and puts forward thoughtful ideas for how they would lead earns my respect. Mallory McMorrow has been an important voice, both in this race and in the State Senate, for policies that benefit Michigan’s children and families, and I look forward to working with her in the future to build a stronger Michigan for everyone.

As we enter the final month of the primary election, I'm excited to continue to make my case to Michiganders why I'm the strongest Democrat to defeat Mike Rogers this November, lower costs, protect manufacturing jobs, and stand up to Trump's abuses of power.”

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Dr. Abdul El-Sayed's statement:

“Throughout this campaign, Senator McMorrow showed what it looks like to fight back against a politics that rigs the system against too many of us. While we have policy disagreements, I never questioned whether Senator McMorrow would fight for a better America for my daughters and hers.

The same party insiders she had the courage to challenge have been bullying anyone who opposes their chosen candidate. After spending $30 million to drown Senator McMorrow and me out, they’re now spending even more to attack me. It’s everything we are standing up against.

I welcome her supporters to our movement to stand up against money in politics, to put money back in pockets, and pass Medicare for All. We cannot allow the establishment to decide our nominee for us.”