Former US Rep. Justin Amash, who left the GOP in 2019 after calling for the impeachment of then-President Donald Trump, announced a Republican bid for Michigan's US Senate seat Thursday, the AP reports. Amash represented Grand Rapids from 2011 to 2021, and he becomes the third former US representative to join the Republican field vying for Michigan's open Senate seat. Former US Reps. Mike Rogers and Peter Meijer have also announced Republican campaigns, as has businessman Sandy Pensler. "I'm convinced that no candidate would be better positioned to win both the Republican primary and the general election," Amash said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. "That's why, today, I'm making it official: I'm joining the race for United States Senate in Michigan."
The decision to jump into the Republican primary comes after Amash left the party to become an independent. He had been the lone House Republican to support a Trump impeachment inquiry in 2019. He opted not to seek reelection to Congress after his fifth term and to instead pursue a Libertarian nomination for president. At the time, Amash said that millions of Americans do not feel well represented by either major political party. Amash seems to have come back to the party, but he promised in his announcement to be "an independent-minded senator prepared to challenge anyone and everyone on the people's behalf" if elected. On the Democratic side, US Rep. Elissa Slotkin is considered the favorite to win the nomination to replace Democratic US Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who is not seeking reelection.
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