Veteran John James, one of Michigan’s rising Republicans stars, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate Thursday morning, the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
“I would like to announce that I am running for U.S. Senate after careful deliberation and thoughtful prayer,” James said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”
“I believe that the time, again, is to serve,” James continued. “I understand what we need to do because I have experience as a business leader, as a job creator—how to protect our economy from socialism, how to bring people together and unite people to make sure that we can defeat the evils that face us today.”
James, who lost to incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in 2018 by seven points, will challenge first-term Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) in 2020.
“I’m focused on continuing to deliver results for Michigan,” Peters said in a statement provided to Fox News. “I’ll keep working with anyone to improve life for Michiganders, whether it’s to expand training programs so everyone has the skills needed to find good-paying jobs, protect our Great Lakes or lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs.”
President Donald Trump endorsed James during his 2018 bid and called him a “future star of the Republican Party,” but Politico claims that Trump’s team hoped James would instead run for a congressional seat in 2020. Since James will appear on the same ticket as Trump, advisers are apparently in disagreement over whether James will help or hurt Trump’s chances in Michigan.
Earlier this year, James was rumored to be one of Trump’s top picks for replacing Nikki Haley as U.N. ambassador, but Trump ultimately nominated Kelly Knight Craft, current U.S. ambassador to Canada.
James spoke with Fox 2 after his announcement and elaborated on his platform.
“We’re not fighting for party; we’re not fighting for red or blue. We’re fighting for red, white and blue and we believe very, very strongly that we’re all Americans despite your race, color, creed, gender or where you grew up,” he told the outlet. “Everybody deserves an opportunity to achieve the American dream and people who divide us in order to achieve their own success—people who divide us and pit Americans against each other—have no business in leadership. We need somebody who has experience of bringing people together to accomplish tough tasks and missions, and that’s what I’ve been doing for my entire adult life.”
According to a March poll from Emerson College, James leads Peters by one percentage point, a statistical tie.
“We are heading in the wrong direction as a country and our leaders in Washington are failing to lead us toward a better and brighter future,” James said on Twitter. “I believe I can help lead Michigan toward that future we deserve, and that’s why I am running for U.S. Senate.”
We are heading in the wrong direction as a country and our leaders in Washington are failing to lead us toward a better and brighter future. I believe I can help lead Michigan toward that future we deserve, and that’s why I am running for US Senate: https://t.co/OuKL4FfSjv 🇺🇸🚁
— John James (@JohnJamesMI) June 6, 2019
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “John James” by John James.
