Republican Bob Young Steps Down from U.S. Senate Race

Michigan’s 2018 U.S. Senate race got a shake up Wednesday, but not because of someone entering the race. Republican Bob Young decided to end his campaign.

Young is the former Chief Justice for the Michigan Supreme Court. He was running for his party’s nomination to take on long-time incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

Young made the announcement on radio station WJR. Young said the Republicans need to gather around a candidate as soon as possible – so he’s reducing the competition.

“I don’t need another public office and I thought the better course to ensure her defeat was for me to step aside,” he said.

Young said the Republicans need consensus going into the August primary. That way, he said, they can use the momentum to defeat Stabenow.

“I think having three very competitive players in the mix makes it very difficult to get to that acceleration point in the summer,” he said.

Businessman John James and financier Sandy Pensler are still in the race for Republicans. Voters will decide who goes up against the Democratic candidate during the August primary.

Author

Cheyna Roth
Cheyna Roth is the co-host and creator of WDET's state politics podcast, MichMash. She has been an audio journalist for almost a decade, covering major events like presidential elections, college scandals, the Michigan Legislature and more, appearing on NPR and across Michigan public radio stations. Cheyna is also a senior producer and podcast host for Slate.com, having produced and hosted shows like Political Gabfest, The Waves, and What Next TBD. Also an author, Cheyna has written two true crime books and her written work has appeared in Broadly, Slate, and MLive, among others.
View all posts