Actor Hill Harper joins race for U.S. Senate seat in Michigan

Hill Harper, an actor and author who owns a coffee shop and historic mansion in Detroit, entered the Democratic primary to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow on Monday.

Harper is the sixth Democrat to join a field in which third-term U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Lansing is viewed as the front-runner after several top officeholders decided not to run. Harper, a political newcomer who plays a surgeon on ABC’s “The Good Doctor,” credited the Democratic trifecta’s leadership in Lansing but said Washington, D.C., is “still broken.”

“Whether you’re a farmer, drive an Uber, teach, work in a hospital, everybody is feeling the impacts of a broken health care system, a crumbling democracy and the urgent, urgent need (to address) climate change because today is one of the hottest days in world history,” he told Crain’s in an interview ahead of the announcement. “I feel without energized, bold leadership in the U.S. Senate, we’re going to continue to be held back. We need new voices. We need new leadership.”

If elected in 2024, the 56-year-old Harper would be the first Black person to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate. There is no African American U.S. House member representing Detroit for the first time in nearly 70 years.

Harper was born in Iowa. He has a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in Providence, R.I., and a master’s and law degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., where he was a classmate of future President Barack Obama. He has acted in shows such as “CSI: NY” and “Homeland” and has written six books.

In 2017, he made Detroit his adopted hometown after having done some film projects there. He bought the Roasting Plant coffee shop downtown and the 18,000-square-foot Charles T. Fisher Mansion, the largest house in the Boston-Edison neighborhood. He has partnered with Wayne State University and local companies on a youth empowerment program.

Harper, who could face “carpetbagger” attacks, said he wanted to raise his now 7-year-old adopted son in Michigan. “The Good Doctor” is filmed in British Columbia, Canada.

“It’s been great for me because my greatest friends and the folks that I love and cherish and the relationships I love and cherish are here,” he said of Detroit. “I’m proud to be here. You know, been here seven years and I love the fact that I’ve been here almost a decade and continue to live here and continue to put down my roots and grow my family.”

The other Democratic candidates are State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh, former state Rep. Leslie Love, businessman Nasser Beydoun, and lawyer and scientist Zack Burns.

Asked how he is different from the others, Harper said representing Michigan is about “diversity of experience.” He said he would be the only senator who is an active, card-carrying union member and one of very few senators to own a small business.

“We need people in the U.S. Senate that actually represent the lives and life experiences of the people,” he said. “That’s what I want to bring. I want to fight for people. I don’t want to fight for big donors. I don’t want to fight for special interests. I don’t want to fight for lobbyists. I want to fight for the people of Michigan, the real people who are there working and the folks I’ve been meeting with across the state.”

Slotkin, who won three battleground House elections, has a substantial financial edge. Her campaign had $2.3 million on hand as of March 31. Since clearing the field of other big names including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, she has been endorsed by 14 smaller unions representing more than 100,000 members, Emily’s List, End Citizens United/Let America Vote, and various state and local elected officials.

Harper said his will be a “people-powered campaign” backed by small-dollar donors across the state and country.

“Folks want to get behind somebody who they know is going to vote their values,” he said. “And they’re not so certain about other folks. Let’s be honest about that. They want somebody that’s going to represent them and fight for them.”

Republicans running so far include lesser-known candidates: State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder; Michael Hoover, who worked at Dow Chemical Co. (now Dow Inc.); lawyer Alexandria Taylor, a former Democrat; and ex-Berrien County Commissioner Ezra Scott.

Others considering whether to jump into the GOP primary are former U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, ex-U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers and New York Stock Exchange Vice Chairman John Tuttle.