Former Rep. Justin Amash enters Michigan’s GOP primary for US Senate seat

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Former Rep. Justin Amash announced Thursday that he will run for the open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan.

Amash, a former five-term congressman, said he will seek the Republican Party nomination for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.  In January, Amash launched an exploratory committee for a possible Senate run.

“After thoroughly evaluating all aspects of a potential campaign, I’m convinced that no candidate would be better positioned to win both the Republican primary and the general election,” Amash said in a news release. “As I wrote when I launched my exploratory committee: We need a principled, consistent constitutional conservative in the Senate—someone with a record of taking on the bipartisan oligarchy, defending sound money and free speech, fighting the surveillance state and military-industrial complex, and protecting all our rights.”

For several years, Amash represented Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, which included Barry, Ionia and a portion of Kent County. In 2019, he left the Republican Party over ideological differences, particularly in regard to former President Donald Trump‘s behavior during the Russian election meddling investigation — though Amash had always leaned toward libertarianism. He ended his time in Congress as an independent.

In 2020, Amash ran an unsuccessful bid for the Libertarian nomination for president.

Stabenow announced last year that she would not seek reelection.

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