ROYAL OAK — Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow has suspended her campaign for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, leaving the race to two candidates, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and former Wayne County Health Director Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.

McMorrow announced her decision Sunday in a video posted on the social media platform X, roughly 10 days after absentee voting by mail began across Michigan. She pledged to support whichever Democrat wins the Aug. 4 primary in the November general election against Republican Mike Rogers, who is running unopposed for his party’s nomination.

The winner of the Nov. 3 general election will succeed retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters.

McMorrow thanked her campaign staff, volunteers and donors, saying she was especially proud of building a campaign that did not rely on contributions from corporate political action committees.

“I am announcing today that I am suspending my campaign for the United States Senate,” McMorrow said, expressing gratitude to the thousands of volunteers and supporters who backed her candidacy.

Her departure reshapes the Democratic primary into a clear ideological contest.

El-Sayed, a progressive Democrat, has built his campaign around Medicare for All, campaign finance reform, labor rights and support for Palestinian human rights. Stevens, meanwhile, represents the Democratic Party’s more traditional establishment wing and has benefited from significant financial backing from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other outside groups supporting her candidacy.

McMorrow, 39, represents Michigan’s Eighth State Senate District, which includes portions of Detroit and several Oakland County communities, including Royal Oak, Beverly Hills, Berkley, Birmingham, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Oak Park and Pleasant Ridge.

Her announcement came just two days before the only televised Democratic Senate debate, hosted Tuesday by WOOD-TV 8 in Grand Rapids between Stevens and El-Sayed.

Name remains on the ballot

Although McMorrow has suspended her campaign, her name will remain on Michigan’s Aug. 4 Democratic primary ballot because absentee ballots had already been printed and mailed before her withdrawal.

According to campaign finance records, McMorrow had raised $8.6 million through the end of March. Fundraising totals for the following quarter have not yet been released.

Michigan election law allows absentee voters to change their votes after submitting a ballot.

Voters who already cast an absentee ballot for McMorrow may cancel that ballot and request a replacement.

The deadline to void an absentee ballot that has already been returned is 5 p.m. on Friday, July 24.

Voters who received an absentee ballot but have not yet returned it may request a replacement ballot by mail until 5 p.m. on Friday, July 31.