Detroit lawmaker Joe Tate joins Michigan’s crowded 2026 U.S. Senate race

State Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, has entered the crowded race for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2026.

The former House speaker announced his candidacy Sunday in an interview with the Associated Press.

“I’m running for the U.S. Senate because I want to continue to keep that promise that my grandparents came up to Michigan for,” Tate told the Associated Press.

Tate’s grandparents came to Detroit from Alabama as part of the Great Migration, when Black Americans moved from the South for better economic opportunities and to escape racist laws and violence.

Tate joins three other Democrats who have already declared a run for the seat. The seat is currently held by Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who is declining to seek reelection in 2026.

Before entering politics, Tate spent two years in the NFL as an offensive lineman. After his pro football career, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was first elected to state office in 2018.

Tate made history in 2022 when he became the first Black person to lead the Michigan House of Representatives as speaker. His ascension came after Democrats won back the House and Senate and held onto the governor’s office in elections that year, giving the party total legislative control.

During his leadership, Democrats used their trifecta to enact gun control reforms, provide free breakfast and lunch for public school students, expand access to free preschool, repeal the state’s “right to work” law and more.

Republicans won back the House in the November 2024 elections, and Tate’s leadership ended in disarray.

What was supposed to be the chamber’s final week of business last year ended without any bills being voted on due to attendance issues caused by boycotting Republicans and a rogue Democratic representative.

Tate worked to get representatives back into the chamber but ultimately failed and hundreds of bills died without a final vote as a result.

The other Democrats officially running for the open Senate seat are: former gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, has not ruled out a run for the office.

Only one Republican has officially declared his candidacy: former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers.

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon have each said they’re considering a run.