The actor Hill Harper announced a campaign launch for Michigan's Senate race on Monday, setting up a challenge against Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who is running for the seat to replace Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). Stabenow announced in January she would not seek reelection.
"We're in a state where I think the triple blue leadership in Lansing has done really hard work moving the state forward, but in Washington, D.C., it's still broken. And folks feel like it's still broken. And I'm one of them," Harper, a Democrat, told the Detroit News. "Without energized, bold leadership in the U.S. Senate, our state will continue to be held back from achieving its full potential."
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Harper is a political novice but has name recognition for his acting roles in The Good Doctor and CSI: NY and owns Roasting Plant Coffee in Michigan.
Democrats have an uphill battle during next year's elections to maintain control of the Senate, and Republicans see the Michigan Senate seat as a crucial pickup.
Slotkin, a rising star within the Democratic Party, announced her Senate campaign in February, arguing for a new generation of Democratic leadership.
"We need a new generation of leaders that thinks differently, works harder, and never forgets that we are public servants," Slotkin tweeted. She raised more than $1 million on the first day of her campaign announcement and nearly $3 million in the second fundraising quarter.
Harper, meanwhile, claimed that his membership within the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists would make him "the only U.S. senator who is a current dues-paying, card-carrying union member" if he were elected.
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The actor also pointed to the lack of representation and diversity as one key reason for his campaign. There are three black men in the Senate, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and no black women senators.
"People want to see themselves reflected in their representation, and right now, Michiganders don't feel that way about their Washington, D.C., representation," Harper said.