OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The high-stakes race for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat has its newest contender, as Ottawa County Commissioner Rebekah Curran has announced she will aim to take the job.
On Thursday, Curran spoke with 13 ON YOUR SIDE about why she's entering the race.
"America used to be a country where people of all religions, beliefs, ideologies, color could come together and become a melting pot, and we could all live peaceably and together," Curran said. "And I feel like that America that I used to see has been lost."
"I feel like our country is incredibly divided right now, and we need someone who can kind of come in and listen to people find our commonality and help bring the state and the country together," Curran said.
Curran was elected to the county board in 2022 and, according to the county's website, was previously tied to political advocacy and action groups including Ben Carson's Presidential Super PAC and The Family Foundation.
Curran is stepping into a crowded field for the Republican nomination to replace outgoing Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow.
It's a field that includes multiple former members of Congress, including former U.S. Representatives Mike Rogers, Justin Amash and Peter Meijer.
Within the ranks, some of Curran's competitors have sought to similarly brand themselves as unifying candidates.
While having past political experience, Curran is portraying herself as a D.C. outsider, in hopes of drawing contrast to a Washington she believes is broken.
"People go in with good intentions, and they often become institutionalized by the system of D.C." Curran said. "I'm exactly the opposite of that; I have a fresh perspective, I know what I stand for, I know what I'm rooted in."
The top issues she'll stand for in the Senate if elected, she said, are based on what she's heard from voters.
"Listening to the people, I can tell you the border is the number one issue, coupled right there with the economy," Curran said, echoing what local officeholders on both sides of the aisle have recently expressed. "People are so tired of paying high gas prices, they're so tired of going to the grocery store and spending so much money on food."
Curran is also leaning on a goal of limiting government scope, pointing specifically to a Michigan ballot effort known as Citizens for Local Choice with which she said she'll partner.
The effort seeks to repeal a new state law, known as Public Act 233, that allows the state to authorize solar and wind projects — including in certain cases where local governments may have objected.
"It's not about whether or not you agree with solar and battery," Curran said about that effort specifically. "It's about the local level having the control to make those decisions."
"Government will grow larger and larger; it's what government does," Curran said. "So we, as servants of the people, have to ensure that we're not allowing that to happen."
What she continued to reiterate was a seeming appeal to a middle Michigan that she said she will make heard.
"I believe that my message is going to resonate with people, and they're going to know that I care about them and they're going to know that their voice matters to me - no matter who they are, no matter what they believe, no matter what the color of their skin is or who they love," Curran said.
"I am conservative, through and through," Curran continued. "That will not change. I will absolutely vote my values. But when you vote your values, there's this idea that you can't love someone else because they don't agree with you, and I don't believe that."
Curran encouraged anyone interested in her campaign to contact her at 616-259-0254.
The GOP nominee will go up against whoever wins the Democratic nomination, with candidates including current congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and actor Hill Harper.
Cook Political Report currently rates this race as Lean Democrat.
Michigan's primary election for state, federal and local races takes place on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.
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