State Sen. Jeremy Moss wins primary for Haley Stevens' US House seat
Grant SchwabDetroit — Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss of Bloomfield has won the Democratic primary for Michigan's 11th Congressional District.
The contest for the seat now filled by U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens featured Moss, former Ford Motor Co. engineer Don Ufford of Bloomfield Township, attorney Aisha Farooqi of Sterling Heights and John Paul Torres of Waterford. According to final, unofficial results, Moss received 49.3% of the vote, with Farooqi, his nearest challenger, getting 31.6%.
Moss, now that he has won the primary, is likely to win election to the safely blue seat in November. The 11th District became more favorable to Democrats after redistricting in 2022 and now covers Oakland County communities such as Pontiac, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Farmington Hills and West Bloomfield Township.
The state lawmaker will likely become Michigan's first openly gay member of Congress.
“It is such an incredible honor to be Oakland County’s Democratic nominee for Congress in the 11th District,” Moss said in a statement. “This seat opened up right at a moment of peril in our country that demanded tested and trusted leadership.
He continued: “Throughout the year of this campaign, we met the moment along the way. We responded to the chaos in real time. As Donald Trump eroded our democracy and stripped away our healthcare, I led the charge to protect Michigan families.
“And now we take this fight to Congress where we must reduce costs, protect healthcare, dismantle ICE, and put a check on the Trump administration."
Moss was the most experienced politician in Tuesday's primary for the 11th District. He is the top Democrat in the Michigan state Senate and has served in the chamber since 2019.
He was backed by several Democratic leaders in the state, including outgoing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, gubernatorial candidate and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, former Gov. Jim Blanchard and Attorney General Dana Nessel.
"Jeremy has fought for working families in the Michigan Legislature, and he will continue that fight in the halls of Congress. His commitment to lowering healthcare costs, tacking the cost of living crisis, and protecting our rights is as critical as ever," Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Curtis Hertel said in a statement.
He added: “I’d like to thank each of the candidates in this Democratic primary for fostering a competitive and substantive race — primaries make our party stronger. As we look to November, I look forward to coming together to elect Jeremy Moss to Congress.”
Ufford consistently tried to differentiate himself from Moss by linking his opponent to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel group that has become increasingly controversial among Democrats, and calling out Moss' acceptance of campaign donations by corporate political action committees.
The former head of Global Vehicle Engineering at Ford was endorsed by Arab American PAC, a Dearborn-based political group, and End Citizens United, a national organization focused on stopping corruption and reforming campaign finance laws.
Moss ($1.4 million) outraised Ufford ($1 million), according to disclosures that cover through July 15. Moss also got a last-minute boost from outside groups spending money on ads to influence voters.
Think Big, a pro-AI group linked to the founders of OpenAI and Palantir Technologies, spent about $300,000 to support Moss in recent days. He was also supported by $100,000 since July 1 from Equality PAC, the political arm of the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus.
Farooqi was considered to be a longshot candidate heading into Tuesday, though she did raise more than $400,000 to support her bid. Torres raised about $150,000 for his bid, including a $56,000 loan to his campaign.