Michigan Republicans lose big name in bid to oust Stabenow from Senate

WASHINGTON — Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bob Young is out of the race to replace U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., costing the Republicans their best-known name in the present field for this year's election.

Young announced his decision to suspend his campaign Wednesday morning on the Frank Beckmann Show on WJR-AM (760), saying he still thought he was the "principled conservative" to beat but felt he didn't have the financial support to continue.

"After assessing the campaign to determine if we had enough to move forward, I don’t see in this contested primary enough financial support to get me where I need to be," he said.

More: Who's running for Congress in Michigan? Here's what we know

He added that while he considered himself the presumptive front-runner and had attracted small donors, "I didn’t have apparently enough appeal to the major donors out there who may be waiting to see who emerges."

He also said that a crowded primary — with four people vying for the seat before Young's departure — could deny him or some other Republican nominee the "acceleration" needed by summer to win in November. The primary is set for Aug. 7.

Young, who is in private law practice, made the announcement just three days after the end of the fourth-quarter fund-raising period for 2017, the results of which will not be made public until the end of the month.

State Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser released a statement on Wednesday morning thanking Young for his "service to our state" and said that despite his decision not to run, "Bob has assured me that he will be actively involved in the 2018 elections."

"He is a principled conservative, our party is lucky to have him, and I look forward to working with him," Weiser said.

Read more:

The loss of Young means the Republicans go into the race without a high-profile candidate at present to challenge Stabenow, who is running for her fourth term. Other potential candidates — including musician Kid Rock (a.k.a. Robert Ritchie) and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph — have declined to run.

Businessman John James, businessman Sandy Pensler and historic preservationist Bob Carr are the other candidates running for the Republican nomination for Senate.

Pensler, a wealthy venture capitalist from Grosse Pointe, wished Young the best and praised his service but noted that his formal rival understood the "importance of raising the necessary funds to defeat Debbie Stabenow."

James, who runs his family's logistics and warehousing business in Detroit and is an African-American member of the Republican Party like Young, also praised what Young, as a state Supreme Court justice, "has meant to our state and to our party."

"Justice Young is a true trailblazer and we owe him a great deal of gratitude and respect," James said. "His wisdom and class are only exceeded by his love for God and country,"

Contact Todd Spangler at 703-854-8947 or at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tsspangler.

Editors note: An earlier version of this story said fundraising numbers for the end of 2017 would be reported to the Federal Election Commission by the middle of January. They will be reported by the end of January.