Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and Republican rival John James were locked in razor-tight race for Michigan’s Senate seat on Wednesday, with the incumbent leading by tens of thousands of votes while some ballots were still being tallied.
More than 5.4 million ballots had been counted as Wednesday evening, with about 2% of the expected vote outstanding. It was too early to call the race, whose outcome will help shape which party controls the Senate. Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in Michigan.
Ballots were being counted in Wayne County — home to Detroit — and Kalamazoo, while Antrim County was addressing the possibility that it inadvertently transposed vote totals and recorded votes for Democrats that should have gone to Republicans. The potential mistake was not expected to substantially alter the Senate outcome.
James earlier retweeted his campaign consultant’s claim that he had “won this race” — despite Peters later taking and building his lead — drawing criticism from Democrats.
“We knew that the U.S. Senate race in Michigan would be competitive and there are still a number of votes left to be counted in Detroit, Grand Rapids and Flint,” said Lavora Barnes, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party. “The outstanding votes in these areas favor Gary Peters and we are confident they will decide this race.”
Peters, 61, was one of two incumbent Democrats running for reelection in a state Donald Trump won in 2016 — a presidential battleground no less and a rare place on the Senate map for Republicans to play offense in 2020. James, a 39-year-old Black businessman and Iraq War veteran, was waging a stiff challenge as he aimed to become the first Michigan Republican to win a U.S. Senate seat in a quarter-century.
Peters, a former congressman, state senator, lottery commissioner and investment adviser, emphasized his bipartisanship and ranking as an effective senator, saying more of his bills were into law by Trump than any other Senate Democrat. He also criticized James’ opposition to the federal health care overhaul and noted James backed Trump “2,000%” during his first campaign — a 2018 loss to Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
James, who would become Michigan’s first African American senator, highlighted his leadership of his family’s automotive logistics company in Detroit and his service in combat after graduating from West Point. His campaign gave 5% of donations to charity.
He called Peters a “do-nothing” career politician and questioned his bipartisan credentials, noting he voted against confirming all three of Trump’s Supreme Court nominees.
Republicans have taken just one of Michigan’s last 15 Senate races, in 1994, when Spencer Abraham won an open seat.
