Lena Epstein, co-chair of the Trump presidential campaign in Michigan last fall, says she will run against third-term Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee. The 2018 race is rated as “likely Democratic” at present by political tipsheet Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Trump carried Michigan in the November general election by roughly 11,000 votes out of 4.8 million cast. Epstein, part of the family that owns Vesco Oil Corp. in the Detroit area, said the results showed “we want an outsider with business leadership skills who can inspire the people of Michigan with a bright vision for the future,” reported The Associated Press. She is the first Republican to declare for the Senate nomination. The AP said it was unclear how much Epstein would finance her own campaign.
Epstein’s website “features a video of her positive comments about Trump and the presidential race on political TV shows, which has allowed her to grow her profile with broader audiences,” said AP. Stabenow opposed President Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch as Supreme Court justice and said modernization of NAFTA is overdue.