McMorrow raised $1M in 3 months to flip Michigan Senate

Following an eventful few months in the national spotlight, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) announced Thursday that she has pulled in a more than $1 million fundraising haul to flip the GOP-controlled Michigan Senate.

Those funds from more than 11,000 donors came in over the last three months, McMorrow said.

“The Michigan Senate has been under GOP control longer than I’ve been alive,” she said in a statement. “Michiganders are sick and tired of an extremist minority rigging the system to hold onto power. With fair maps that finally align with the makeup of the state, we’re going to flip the Michigan Senate to give the power back to the people.”

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has highlighted both chambers of the Michigan Legislature as top national targets for Democrats to flip after the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) completed new  maps for each of Michigan’s congressional, state Senate and state House districts months ago for the first time.

McMorrow is currently running for her second Senate term in a primary that pits her against state Sen. Marshall Bullock (D-Detroit), the only Michigan race that involves two sitting senators. The Royal Oak Democrat flipped her district blue when she won in 2018.

She became a burgeoning national figure in April, when her floor speech — hitting back against state Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) for baselessly accusing her of sexualizing children by standing up for LGBTQ+ issues — went viral. The video now has more than 15.2 million views.

McMorrow received a supportive phone call from President Joe Biden several days later and has been featured in many national media stories. 

Last week, she spoke at a U.S. congressional hearing about the dangers of a post-Roe v. Wade country. The senator had undergone a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure last year to remove a displaced IUD that had punctured through her uterus, and testified that she might have died if not for the physicians who knew how to perform abortion procedures.

McMorrow is also traveling to Iowa next month as a star guest at a Democratic fundraiser.

Political figures visiting Iowa usually sets off speculation about a possible presidential run.

The more than $1 million she has raised will be split between the Michigan Senate Democratic Fund, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, McMorrow’s leadership fund A More Perfect Michigan and McMorrow’s own candidate committee.