With Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) retirement, the race to replace the senior senator from Michigan is already shaping up. Although several possible contenders have bowed out of consideration, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) on Monday became the first Democrat to announce she’s running. Others are mulling whether to jump in.

The Michigan Senate race will be a key battleground that could ultimately determine the balance of power in the Senate, which Democrats narrowly control 51-49.

Candidates who have declared 

Democrats

Slotkin joined the race with a video announcement she shared on Twitter Monday morning. The Michigan Democrat and former CIA analyst represents a Lansing-area district that, after last cycle's redistricting, is split almost evenly along party lines. She flipped a red district in 2018, held on to it in 2020, and won her last election by 5 percentage points despite being widely labeled as endangered.

REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN ANNOUNCES 2024 MICHIGAN SENATE RUN

“We need a new generation of leaders that thinks differently, works harder, and never forgets that we are public servants,” the representative said.

So far, no other Democrats have announced — a sign the primary field could be clearing for her.

Republicans

Nikki Snyder, who is part of the Michigan Board of Education, in mid-February became the first candidate to declare she would run for Senate in Michigan. The 38-year-old registered nurse is one of two Republicans on the eight-member education board who have clashed with Democrats over how schools have handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Snyder attempted to challenge Slotkin in 2020 for her House seat, but ultimately, she didn’t turn in enough petition signatures to make the primary ballot.

Michael Hoover, a small business owner, has also filed to run for office.

Considering a run

Democrats

Democrat Leslie Love told the Michigan Advance she could be interested in running for Stabenow’s seat back in January. Love, a former state representative from Detroit, served as the director of government affairs for the Piston Group, an automotive supplier, for a year before working as the senior executive assistant deputy director at the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Former Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence told the Washington Post she wants a “strong African American to run” and even floated the idea of vying for the seat herself if she doesn’t find one. Lawrence served in Congress from 2015 to 2023.

Hill Harper, a Democratic activist and actor, has said he is considering running. Harper, a cancer survivor, was appointed to serve on former President Barack Obama’s Cancer Panel from 2011 to 2018. Harper has also worked with the State Department on several missions to Israel, Turkey, and Italy.

Republicans

Republican state Sen. Ruth Johnson told the Detroit News she is considering running. Johnson, who previously served six years in the Michigan House, is serving her second term in the state Senate. Additionally, she served as Michigan’s secretary of state from 2011 to 2018.

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Who is not running 

Democrats

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) is not running for the seat, according to NBC News. She is serving her second four-year term as governor after winning reelection last year.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) announced in late January she would not run for the seat, saying she could “best serve Michigan’s working families, manufacturers, students and small businesses” in her current role.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a former Democratic presidential candidate, has also dismissed the possibility of running for the seat.

Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow recently announced she’d be focusing all her attention on serving in the Michigan Senate as the majority whip, declining to run for the seat in 2024.

Most recently, Democratic Lt. Gov Garlin Gilchrist decided against running, tweeting that he and Whitmer have "more work to do. I look forward to working with our next US Senator to get it done."

Republicans

On the Republican side, Rep. John James (R-MI) filed for reelection in 2024, declining to run for the seat despite two earlier bids.

Republican former Lt. Gov Brian Calley announced last month he won’t run for the seat, according to the Michigan Advance. “There’s a 0.0 percent chance that I will even entertain running — for any office, actually, but especially one in Washington, D.C.,” Calley said at the time.