Former Republican Congressman Peter Meijer, who voted to impeach President Trump, announced Monday he will run for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat.

“Today, former West Michigan Congressman and Iraq War veteran Peter Meijer announces his run for the United States Senate in the 2024 Republican Primary to replace retiring Senator Debbie Stabenow,” Meijer said in a press release.

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Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) will retire after holding the seat in the battleground state for over 20 years.

According to Breitbart, Stabenow’s unexpected retirement announcement created a wide-open race with more than a dozen candidates.

Per Breitbart:

Meijer is an heir to a Midwestern grocery store empire. His name recognition and fundraising ability instantly make him a top candidate in one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races. He joins former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers and former Detroit Police Chief James Craig in the Republican field, while the Democratic field has been led by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and includes actor Hill Harper.

Slotkin announced her intentions in February, but the Republican field had remained relatively empty until Rogers announced a campaign in September and Craig did so in October. Slotkin had nearly $4 million more in the bank than any other Senate candidate through September, according to campaign finance numbers released earlier this month.

Meijer, who is from Grand Rapids, is a former Army reserve officer who served in Iraq. He was seen as part of the next generation of Republican leaders when he was elected to the U.S. House in 2020 at only 32 year old. But a vote to impeach Trump just two weeks into Meijer’s first-term made him an immediate target of Trump loyalists.

“Former Rep. Peter Meijer is running for the Republican nomination for Michigan’s open Senate seat. He was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after Jan. 6,” Axios wrote.

After his vote to impeach Trump, Meijer lost in the Republican primary in the midterm elections.

From the Associated Press:

Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer, who witnessed the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection days after taking office and then cast one of the 10 Republican votes to impeach Donald Trump over it, has lost his reelection bid.

Meijer was defeated in a primary Tuesday by Trump-endorsed John Gibbs, a businessman and missionary who served in the Trump administration under Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

Axios added:

Meijer’s announcement is no surprise.

Speculation that the West Michigan Republican would enter the race has picked up in the weeks after Meijer formed an exploratory committee for a campaign.

Meijer was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-president Donald Trump in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The action likely cost him his seat. Democrats boosted his far-right challenger in the Republican primary race, who eventually lost to Democrat Hillary Scholten in the general election.

 

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