Amash launches exploratory committee for open U.S. Senate seat

WEST MICHIGAN — Justin Amash, a former U.S. representative, announced on social media Thursday he's launching an exploratory committee to run for the state's open seat in the U.S. Senate this November.

Amash, who represented West Michigan in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2021, left the Republican Party in 2019, identifying as an independent and later, libertarian. It's unclear under which banner he'd run in a possible Senate campaign, though he alluded to possibly joining the Republican primary field.

Amash, of Cascade, represented Barry and Ionia counties, as well as most of Kent County and Battle Creek.

"I’ve been humbled in recent weeks by the many people who have urged me to run for Senate in Michigan and to do so by joining the Republican primary," Amash posted on X, formerly called Twitter. "... Today I’m launching the Justin Amash for Senate Exploratory Committee as I consider entering the race.

"We need a principled, consistent constitutional conservative in the Senate — someone with a record of taking on the bipartisan oligarchy, defending sound money and free speech, fighting the surveillance state and military-industrial complex, and protecting all our rights. The stakes are high: freedom, social cooperation, and human progress itself."

Amash couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

While serving, Amash bucked the trend among most congressional conservatives when he voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in 2019 over allegations Trump abused his office by asking the Ukrainian government to investigate a political rival, now-President Joe Biden.

Unlike actual campaign committees, exploratory committees don't need to register with the Federal Elections Commission, so it remains unclear if Amash is entering the race as a Republican or as a third-party candidate. Should he join the Republican primary, he'll enter a crowded field that already has a pair of former Republican representatives.

Former U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers and Peter Meijer, who succeeded Amash in Congress after Michigan's Third District was re-drawn, are seeking the Republican nomination. So is former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor in 2022, and businessman Sandy Pensler, among others.

Amash's criticism of Trump would be a compelling dynamic in the Senate race, should he clinch the Republican nomination, given Trump is considered the front-runner for the GOP's presidential nomination.

But others in the primary would also have to grapple with another Trump nomination — Meijer also broke with his party to impeach Trump, this time during proceedings that centered on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Meijer served only a single term in Congress, losing a Republican primary to Trump-backed John Gibbs, now a controversial figure in Ottawa County, in August 2022. Gibbs lost to Democrat Hillary Scholten.

Since launching his Senate bid, Meijer has said he doesn't believe Trump engaged in insurrection, a contrast to his impeachment vote. Meijer, in a November interview with the Free Press, said his impeachment vote was a political distinction, rather than a legal one.

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Rogers, who represented Michigan in Congress from 2001 to 2015, endorsed Trump for president in January. But he had shown a willingness to criticize Trump in the past, including writing a January 2021 op-ed in the Washington Post saying Trump and others needed to accept the results of the 2020 election.

Michigan's U.S. Senate seat is up for grabs this fall, after Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, announced she would not seek another term. Stabenow has held the seat since 2001.

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing, is considered the front-runner for the Democratic party's nomination. But she faces challenges from actor Hill Harper, Dearborn businessman Nasser Beydoun, and Ann Arbor lawyer Zack Burns.

Notably, no Republican has won a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan since Spencer Abraham in 1994, and he was defeated six years later by Stabenow.

— Washington correspondent Todd Spangler contributed to this report. Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Amash launches exploratory committee for open U.S. Senate seat