State Education Board president Pamela Pugh leaves Senate race to run for US House seat

State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh announced Monday she would abandon her campaign for the Democratic nomination to an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan and run for an open seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee instead.

"My decision to seek federal office was always rooted in two goals," said Pugh, who lives in Saginaw and is a constituent in Kildee's district. "I wanted to ensure that communities like my hometown had a strong, capable and experienced voice in Washington and I wanted to ensure Michigan added more women to the ranks of power."

By running to replace Kildee, she said, "We can do both."

Pugh had announced her candidacy as a Democrat to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., in May. Pugh has worked as a public health adviser in Flint and first won statewide election to the Board of Education in 2014. She became the board's president this year.

She becomes the first Democratic candidate to formally announce in Michigan's 8th Congressional District, though Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley told the Free Press he is looking into running. Paul Junge, who lost to Kildee last year, is running as a Republican, as is Saginaw police officer Martin Blank.

Kildee announced this month he would not run for a seventh two-year term next year, deciding he wanted to step back from politics and spend more time with his family. While Kildee has never had any difficulty winning reelection and would have been a favorite to win again next year, the region has been trending more Republican and is considered a toss-up seat.

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pamela Pugh leaves Senate race to run for US House seat instead