Hill Harper launches US Senate bid with event at Detroit’s Cadillac Square
The TV actor and law school graduate joins a growing field of Democratic hopefuls aiming to earn the party’s nomination in 2024.
Actor Hill Harper speaking at an event in Detroit, Mich. on July 11, 2023, launching his Democratic party nomination bid for U.S. Senate.
Hill Harper, an actor best known for roles in hit TV shows such as “CSI: NY” and “The Good Doctor,” is joining the race to fill Debbie Stabenow’s soon-to-be-vacated U.S. Senate seat.
Stabenow announced plans to retire at the end of the term earlier this year.
Entering as a Democrat, this will be Harper’s first time running for elected office. He joins a field of party nomination hopefuls that include Nasser Beydoun and Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, among others.
At a campaign kickoff event in Detroit’s Cadillac Square on Tuesday, Harper said he hopes to attract voters who don’t always show up at the polls, claiming that fighting for underserved communities will be a focus of his campaign.
“The founding of our country is founded in the idea of freedom,” says Harper. “Yet if you look at the systemic history of our country from then until now, it’s been a very reluctant promise of freedom.”
While he is not originally from Michigan, Harper moved to Detroit and purchased the Charles T. Fisher Mansion in the Boston Edison neighborhood in 2017.
“In 2011-2012 I came here to do a couple movies,” says Harper. “And I fell in love — I fell in love with the people.”
Harper touts that he is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was classmates with former President Barack Obama.
The 44th U.S. president has not endorsed a candidate in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race.
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