Hill Harper, an actor known for roles in television, announced he’s running for Michigan’s open Senate seat against an already established and formidable Democratic opponent.
Harper launched his long-anticipated campaign in a video Monday. His entry pits him against U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a moderate-coded Democrat who came into office in 2018 by flipping a district that Donald Trump had won.
Known for roles on “The Good Doctor” and “CSI: NY,” Harper has not run for office before, despite decades of activism and having established a profile in Detroit as a small business owner who renovated one of its storied historic mansions.
Harper, 57, frames his video as a letter to his adoptive son. “Dear Pierce, I’m recording this video for you because I’m about to make a big announcement, and it’s going to be tough for us,” he says. “No, I’m not going to be able to tuck you in every night, or do our nighttime prayers together. But these are sacrifices so many hardworking families have to make every single day.”
Harper is expected to run to the left of Slotkin, known for carrying one of the nation’s most competitive House districts for Democrats. The Democratic primary also has a slew of others in the mix, including Michigan State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh, who are hoping for a shot at the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
The video subtly introduces voters to Harper’s sterling resume: Ivy League graduate (Brown and Harvard universities), author, nonprofit founder and cancer survivor who served on a cancer panel under President Barack Obama. And it hints at some of the issues on which Harper may center his campaign.
“The world you’re growing up in,” Harper says to his young son, who appears in the video, “doesn’t feel like it’s getting any better. It’s more divisive and more dangerous. You told me that you were afraid to go to school because of shootings. That’s not freedom. Our economy works for the richest, while the most vulnerable have to work even harder than ever to keep up.”
Slotkin’s district covers mid-Michigan, while Harper is more established in Detroit, a city whose large Black population constitutes a major portion of Michigan’s Democratic primary electorate.
To date, most of the action in Michigan’s Senate race has been on the Democratic side. Republicans have yet to locate a formidable candidate to take on Democrats in what has traditionally been a presidential swing state. Senate Republicans have indicated that Michigan isn’t even on their radar for 2024, as the party focuses its attention on what it perceives to be easier targets in Ohio, Montana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.