Former U.S. Rep. Amash exploring GOP run for U.S. Senate in Michigan | Detroit News | Melissa Nann Burke:
January 18, 2024 - "Former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash of west Michigan said Thursday he's forming an exploratory committee as he mulls joining the Republican primary contest for the state's open U.S. Senate seat. Amash, 43, of Cascade Township is a fierce critic of former President Donald Trump who left the GOP in 2019 and later became the first Libertarian to serve in Congress. He chose not to run for reelection in 2020 after five terms....
"'I’ve been humbled in recent weeks by the many people who have urged me to run for Senate in Michigan and to do so by joining the Republican primary,' Amash wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. 'They see what I see: contenders for the seat who are uninspired, unserious, and unprepared to tackle the chief impediment to liberty and economic prosperity — an overgrown and abusive government that strives to centralize power and snuff out individualism. The people of Michigan and our country deserve better. Today I’m launching the Justin Amash for Senate Exploratory Committee as I consider entering the race'....
"Amash's joining the Senate GOP field would further crowd the race, which includes former U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers of Brighton and Peter Meijer of Grand Rapids Township — who succeeded Amash in Congress — former Detroit Police Chief James Craig and businessman Sandy Pensler of Grosse Pointe Park, among others. On the Democratic side, candidates include three-term U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Holly, the actor Hill Harper of Detroit and businessman Nasser Beydoun of Dearborn. Former state Rep. Leslie Love of Detroit said Thursday she was suspending her campaign.
"Amash represented the Grand Rapids area in Congress for 10 years and saw his national profile soar after he became the only Republican member of Congress to support Trump's first impeachment. He was a co-founder of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus in 2015.... He left the Republican Party on July 4, 2019, after years of clashes with GOP leadership and frustration with hyper-partisanship in Congress. The former state lawmaker first became an independent and later joined the Libertarian Party in 2020 after a lifetime as a 'small l' libertarian, saying he wanted to help the party grow and arguing it could be a "strong competitor" to the two major parties....
"If he joins the GOP primary for Senate, Amash could have a rocky go with pro-Trump voters given his record of unflattering remarks about the former president, including the rejection of Trump's stolen election claims. Trump famously labeled Amash a "loser" and GOP leaders to denounced him over his impeachment stance....
"Elected in the 2010 tea party wave, Amash ranked among the most conservative members of the U.S. House, opposing what he called runaway government spending and casting votes based on his libertarian principles and conscience, often explaining his votes on Facebook. He clashed with Rogers, who chaired the House Intelligence panel, over Amash's push for reforms to government surveillance methods and other national security issues when they served together. Rogers fundraised for Amash primary opponent Brian Ellis in 2014. Amash won the primary by 15 percentage points that year.
"Amash, who is Palestinian American, in October announced that several of his relatives were killed in a blast at St. Porphyrius Orthodox Church in Gaza, where they'd been sheltering from Israeli shelling. Amash's father immigrated with his family to the U.S. in 1956 as Palestinian Christian refugees."
Former Rep. Justin Amash launches exploratory committee for MI Senate bid | WOOD TV8 | January 19, 2024:
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