Lansing — State Sen. Mallory McMorrow said Wednesday she won’t endorse in Michigan’s heated Democratic U.S. Senate primary election after dropping out of the race over the weekend.
“I trust voters to decide and I’ll support whoever is the nominee after Aug. 4,” McMorrow of Royal Oak said, referring to the date of the primary.
Political observers had contended that McMorrow’s decision on whether to intervene and whether to back former Wayne County health official Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor or U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham might have been pivotal in what’s expected to be a close election.
McMorrow, a second-term state senator, announced on Sunday she was ending her campaign for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, after falling in public polling behind El-Sayed, who’s favored by Michigan progressives, and Stevens, a fourth-term congresswoman who’s benefited from millions of dollars in TV advertising.
After a debate in Grand Rapids on Tuesday night, both El-Sayed and Stevens said they had spoken with McMorrow in recent days.
“I told her that we were going to miss her up here tonight,” Stevens said.
Stevens labeled McMorrow a “very dedicated public servant.”
On whether McMorrow should endorse in the contest, Stevens said she was working eagerly to earn the votes of all Michigan residents. El-Sayed said he wanted McMorrow to know he appreciated how she ran her campaign.
“Mallory was clear that she wanted to reject the power of corporate money and AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) money and (Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer in our politics,” El-Sayed said. “I want to reject the power of corporate money, AIPAC money and Chuck Schumer in our politics.”
McMorrow’s name still appears on the Aug. 4 primary ballot because she dropped out of the race after ballots were already printed and mailed to absentee voters.
