Hill Harper Announces Michigan Senate Run, Challenges Frontrunner U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin

Actor Hill Harper, known for his roles in ABC’s “The Good Doctor” and CBS’ “CSI: NY” has announced that he is running for Senate. Hill, 57, hasn’t run for public office before but believes now is the perfect time to change that. He is officially running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Michigan, challenging frontrunner U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin.

In a statement to The Detroit News, Harper explained:

“We’re in a state where I think the triple blue leadership in Lansing has done really hard work moving the state forward, but in Washington, D.C., it’s still broken. And folks feel like it’s still broken. And I’m one of them. Without energized, bold leadership in the U.S. Senate, our state will continue to be held back from achieving its full potential. We deserve a better brand of politics than politics as usual, and that’s why I’m running for the U.S. Senate.”

Harper, who hails from Iowa, also believes the Senate desperately needs a “richness” of diversity. “As an example, if I’m elected to the U.S. Senate, I will be the only U.S. senator who is a current dues-paying, card-carrying union member,” he added. Harper is a member of the Screen Actors Guild − American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, a union that represents actors.

“If I’m elected to the U.S. Senate, I will be one of very few small business owners in the U.S. Senate and, I believe, the only Democrat…People want to see themselves reflected in their representation, and right now Michiganders don’t feel that way about their Washington, D.C., representation.”

Hill possesses degrees from Brown University and Harvard Law. In the past, he has campaigned for former President Barack Obama in Iowa and later served on Obama’s Cancer Panel. At the moment, only three Black men serve in the U.S. Senate ― Sens. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey; Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia; and Tim Scott, R-South Carolina. There are no Black women.