Joe Tate, Former MI House Speaker, Endorses Haley Stevens in U.S. Senate Race

Former Michigan Speaker of the House Joe Tate has endorsed U.S. House Rep. Haley Stevens in the 2026 Michigan U.S. Senate race, saying he believes she is “the strongest candidate to defeat Mike Rogers” in a statement issued Monday.

Tate, who was the Michigan Speaker of the House from 2023 to 2025, had previously launched his own Senate bid in May before dropping out of the race earlier this month.

In Monday’s announcement of the endorsement, state Rep. Tate said “Haley Stevens has always been a fighter for Michigan and our communities, and I believe she is the strongest candidate to defeat Mike Rogers and the right person to send to the Senate to lower costs for our families and stand up to Donald Trump’s chaos agenda. I’m proud to endorse Haley and look forward to working with her to do right by Michiganders.”

Stevens issued a statement saying “Joe Tate represents the best of America and Michigan: veteran, athlete, public servant, history maker, and leader”, and said in a post touting the endorsement that she’s proud to have worked alongside him and “even more proud to have his support in this race”.

Other endorsements of Stevens include former Michigan governor Jim Blanchard, U.S. House Rep. for Michigan’s 3rd congressional district Hillary Scholten, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the incumbent mayors of Lansing and Grand Rapids, Andy Schor and David LaGrand.

The field of Democratic candidates seeking the party’s nomination for next year’s U.S. Senate election in Michigan includes Congresswoman Stevens, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, healthcare professional Rachel Howard, and former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed.

Next year’s election will determine the successor to incumbent Senator Gary Peters, who is leaving at the end of his current term after announcing in January of this year that he would not seek reelection to a third term in the Senate.