Former Rep. Justin Amash launches exploratory committee for MI Senate bid

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Former Rep. Justin Amash launched an exploratory committee for a possible U.S. Senate run.

In a statement posted on X Thursday, Amash said he launched the Justin Amash for Senate Exploratory Committee to decide whether to enter the race for the seat vacated by Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

“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 said, in part.

For several years, Amash represented Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, which included Barry, Ionia and a portion of Kent County. In 2019, he left the Republican Party over ideological differences, particularly in regard to former President Donald Trump‘s behavior during the Russian election meddling investigation — though Amash had always leaned toward libertarianism. He ended his time in Congress as an independent.

In 2020, Amash ran an unsuccessful bid for the Libertarian nomination for president.

Stabenow announced last year that she would not seek reelection.

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