PLAYING BALL
As Oakland Confidential has called it for months, actor Hill Harper has announced he is running for Michigan’s open Senate seat, currently held by Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow. In a moving video announcement, which acts as a video letter to his adopted son, Harper stated he was jumping into the Democratic race as a progressive candidate “to bring jaded and unheard voters back into the Democratic fold,” stating he will be focusing on expanding Social Security, access to affordable medical care, student debt and income inequality. Harper, who has a home in Detroit’s Boston-Edison neighborhood, is on the TV show “The Good Doctor,” which like all shows is on hold with the writers and actors strikes. While Harper can tap into his show business contacts for fundraising, he has a lot of catching up to do to Democratic front runner, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who raised $2.8 million in the second quarter, for more than $5.8 million in 2023 – the most any Michigan Senate candidate has ever raised, according to Punchbowl. On the Republican side, word is leaking that former Congressman Mike Rogers, who represented Livingston, Clinton and Shiawassee counties and is a fierce Trump critic, is strongly considering jumping into the race. Rogers is considered a moderate Republican (remember those?) and was very popular in his district, winning his last race with 68 percent of the vote. He then became a CNN national security commentator. Word is the now-Florida resident is scouting homes in Michigan.