‘We need new leaders’: Mallory McMorrow enters 2026 race for US Senate

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow has officially launched her campaign to run for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2026.

In a campaign announcement video posted to social media on April 2, the Royal Oak Democrat took aim at President Donald Trump’s actions to cut Medicaid, fire federal workers and dismantle the Department of Education. McMorrow said she wants to be one of a new generation of leaders in Washington, D.C., to challenge Trump.

“I know there’s a lot of fear and anger and uncertainty right now about people in power who frankly have no business being there. So you know what won’t fix it? The same old crap out of Washington,” McMorrow said. “We need new leaders because the same people in D.C. who got us into this mess are not going to be the ones to get us out of it.”

McMorrow, a New Jersey native and former industrial designer, was first elected to the Michigan Senate in 2018, beating incumbent Republican Marty Knollenberg by almost 4%, or over 5,000 votes.

McMorrow’s national profile grew in April 2022 when she gave a speech on the state Senate floor responding to Republican attacks on her for supporting LGBTQ youth. McMorrow called out Republican state Sen. Lana Theis, who had baselessly accused her and other Democrats of grooming and sexualizing children.

“I want every child in this state to feel seen, heard and supported, not marginalized and targeted because they are not straight, white and Christian,” McMorrow said. A video of the speech went viral on social media, even reaching former President Joe Biden, who called McMorrow with words of support.

McMorrow ran for reelection in the 2022 midterm election and won with almost 79% of the vote, or roughly 95,000 votes. In the state Senate, McMorrow has been a prominent Democratic voice who has helped to pass legislation to strengthen gun control laws, ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth, and repeal the state’s abortion ban.

She’s the first candidate to enter the race to succeed Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, who announced in January that he would be retiring when his term ends next year.

McMorrow is no stranger to openly criticizing Trump and his policies. During her appearance at the Democratic National Convention last August, she hoisted a giant copy of Project 2025 onstage, warning about “its plan to turn Donald Trump into a dictator.”

“We believe in a government of the people, by the people and for the people, not the government of Donald Trump, by Donald Trump and for Donald Trump,” McMorrow said. “We believe in the separation of powers and the rule of law. We believe in a system built up to serve everyone, not breaking a system to serve one petty, selfish man.”