Mallory McMorrow drops out of Michigan’s crucial Democratic Senate primary

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Alison Main, CNN

(CNN) — Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan on Sunday, narrowing the field to two as the party faces a crucial choice next month in picking a nominee to defend a must-win seat.

That leaves Rep. Haley Stevens facing Abdul El-Sayed, a candidate running from the Bernie Sanders wing of the party who is trying to extend the momentum progressives have seen in recent primaries across the country.

McMorrow’s exit ahead of the early August primary doesn’t just reflect her own struggles, but also an emphasis among many Democrats to stop El-Sayed, out of fear he would be a weaker general election candidate against former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican.

McMorrow, in a video on X, touted her achievements as majority whip of the state Senate and urged her supporters to “elect Democrats up and down the ticket” in November, though she did not endorse either of her former opponents.

“Whoever wins this primary on August 4 will have my full support,” she said.

Stevens, the favored candidate of Democratic leaders in Washington, acknowledged McMorrow’s prominent position in state politics in a statement Sunday, calling her an “important voice” on “policies that benefit Michigan’s children and families.”

Stevens, a four-term congresswoman, earned the backing of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a McMorrow ally, on Sunday. Nessel is the highest-ranking state official to endorse in the race, as outgoing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has held off on picking a candidate.

El-Sayed, who previously questioned McMorrow’s principles as she shifted to the left on some positions, praised her in a statement for fighting against politics that “rigs the system” and urged her supporters to back him.

McMorrow was notably the first candidate in the race to say that she would not back Chuck Schumer to remain Senate Democratic leader if elected. She reiterated her call for a new direction in the party on Sunday.

“The energy is there. People are crying out for change. And we owe it to them to listen,” she said.

Rogers, the likely GOP nominee, narrowly lost a 2024 race for the state’s other Senate seat. Republicans hope to flip the seat and bolster the party’s efforts to retain the majority in the Senate. Few Democrats believe they have a path to taking the majority without holding onto the open seat, which is held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters.

McMorrow first came to national attention with a viral 2022 speech taking on a Republican colleague who falsely accused her of wanting to “groom” children in a culture-war attack. She was also featured as a speaker at the 2024 Democratic convention in Chicago, and she entered the US Senate race with significant attention and support, bulked up by her social media presence.

That didn’t just attract endorsements in state, but also by national figures in the Democratic Party such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

But McMorrow’s campaign struggles to build support in the splintered field were so clear that she had been hounded for weeks with rumors that she’d drop out.

Throughout her 15-month campaign, she faced accusations of being a flip-flopper for moving to the left on issues including Israel’s war in Gaza and corporate PAC money in elections.

McMorrow also came under fire from her opponents after CNN’s KFile uncovered old tweets in which she took jabs at the rural Midwest and lamented moving from California to Michigan.

Though McMorrow had deleted the posts as part of a larger purge, she later defended her “authenticity” in an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju.

McMorrow’s announcement comes days ahead of a debate between the Democratic candidates, with El-Sayed and Stevens now set to face off.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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