Former Detroit police chief James Craig withdraws his Republican candidacy for Michigan’s vacant US Senate seat

LANSING: Less than four months after he began his candidacy, former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, a Republican, said on Tuesday that he was withdrawing from consideration for the vacant U.S. Senate seat representing Michigan.

When Craig declared his candidacy in October, he was seen as one of the more well-known contenders. He had been hoping to get the backing of former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement has often turned the tide in GOP primaries.
“This is a business decision,” Craig said over the phone to the AP. “I felt like I didn’t have the support, therefore I’m not leaving. However, running a campaign requires money from a commercial standpoint.”
Craig went on to say that he is “strongly considering” entering the 2019 mayoral race in Detroit.
Craig headed the biggest city’s police department in Michigan for eight years and was a front-runner for the GOP nomination for governor in 2022, but his campaign was destroyed by forged signatures on papers.
His Senate candidacy struggled to get traction. The most recent financial reports, which were submitted last month, show that Craig fared worse than other Senate candidates by raising only $60,581 by the end of 2023.
The Republican field is competing to succeed Debbie Stabenow, the third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, who said in January that she will retire after her fourth term. Republicans have long seen Michigan as a swing state where they have had success in the past, but they haven’t prevailed in a U.S. Senate contest there since 1994.
A crowded GOP field that includes former US Representatives Mike Rogers and Peter Meijer becomes thinner as a result of Craig’s resignation. In December, industrialist Sandy Pensler of the Detroit region began his second Senate candidacy.
Since declaring his candidacy in September, Rogers has raised around $2 million, leading them in donations. After Craig said that he would seek the former chief of police’s “counsel on how we can work together to bring a brighter and safer future for all Michiganders,” Rogers released a statement.
U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination and has raised far more money than any other contender, amassing $11.7 million from the beginning of her campaign in February 2023 and the end of the same year.
After serving as Detroit’s police chief for 20 years, Craig decided to run for governor. Although he was seen as the front-runner in the 2022 race, phony signatures on nomination petitions prevented him and four other candidates from being placed on the ballot.
No candidate was specifically prosecuted with intentionally submitting fake petitions, however three others have been charged with forgery and other offenses pertaining to the signatures.