Mallory McMorrow

Mallory McMorrow
McMorrow in 2023
Member of the Michigan Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byMarty Knollenberg
Constituency13th district (2019–2023)
8th district (2023–present)
Personal details
Born
Mallory Ann McMorrow

(1986-08-23) August 23, 1986
Whitehouse, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
(m. 2017)​
Children1
EducationUniversity of Notre Dame (BA)

Mallory Ann McMorrow (born August 23, 1986) is an American politician who has served in the Michigan Senate since January 2019.[1] She became senate majority whip on January 1, 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents the 8th district; before that, from 2019 to 2023, she represented the 13th district, which included Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Clawson, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, and Troy, Michigan. Prior to running for the Michigan Senate, McMorrow worked in industrial design. She is currently a candidate for the United States Senate in Michigan for the 2026 election.

Early life and education

McMorrow was born in the Whitehouse section of Readington Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Hunterdon Central Regional High School.[2] She was raised Catholic and her family was active in their local parish.[3] McMorrow sang in her church choir, and her mother taught Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) classes.[3] However, her parents divorced, and their priest said her mother was "not living up to the Church's expectations". McMorrow said that on Sundays, she and her mother instead volunteered at local soup kitchens outside of the diocese.[4]

McMorrow received a Bachelor of Arts in industrial design from the University of Notre Dame in 2008.[5] During her junior year at Notre Dame, she won a public design contest for the 2018 version of the Mazda3. She also finished second in a contest to design the logo for the Indiana Toll Road.[6][7] After graduation, McMorrow worked for design firms in New York and Los Angeles, as well as for Mattel and Gawker, before moving to Michigan.[6][7]

Political career

McMorrow participated in the 2017 Women's March in Detroit and began writing postcards to Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Secretary of Education, challenging positions of the Trump administration. She applied to Emerge America's Michigan chapter, which provides training to political candidates.[7]

In 2018, McMorrow ran for the Michigan Senate, seeking to represent Michigan's 13th Senate district. She was unopposed in the Democratic Party's primary election, and faced incumbent Republican Senator Marty Knollenberg in the general election.[8] McMorrow defeated Knollenberg, receiving 52 percent of the vote, with 73,138 votes to Knollenberg's 67,798.[1][9] Michigan Senate Democrats chose McMorrow to serve as the assistant minority floor leader.[10]

In January 2020, McMorrow, lobbyist Melissa Osborn and Michigan Advance reporter Allison Donahue accused Republican state Senator Peter Lucido of sexual harassment.[11] McMorrow stated that Lucido touched her lower back and upper buttocks in November 2018, shortly after she was elected to the state senate, and made comments during a training session that suggested she won her election because of her appearance.[11]

In June 2021, McMorrow co-sponsored the reintroduction of Senate Resolution 60, introduced by Senator Jeremy Moss, which proposed declaring June as Pride Month in Michigan. The resolution was adopted.[12]

In April 2022, Republican State Senator Lana Theis claimed in a campaign fundraising email that McMorrow wanted to "groom and sexualize kindergartners" and teach that "8-year-olds are responsible for slavery"[13][14] On April 19, 2022, McMorrow took to the senate floor to defend herself against Theis's accusations, stating: "I am a straight, white, Christian, married, suburban mom who knows that the very notion that learning about slavery or redlining or systemic racism somehow means that children are being taught to feel bad or hate themselves because they are white is absolute nonsense."[13] Neither Theis nor the Michigan Republican Party apologized for their accusations, and Theis did not respond to McMorrow's speech on the senate floor.[13] McMorrow's speech, which she uploaded to social media platforms, received over one million views just a few hours after it was posted.[13]

During redistricting following the 2020 United States census, prior to the 2022 elections, Michigan's independent redistricting commission merged McMorrow's district with the district represented by fellow Democrat Marshall Bullock.[15] In the primary election held August 2, 2022, McMorrow defeated Bullock for the Democratic Party's nomination for the 8th District.[16] McMorrow defeated Republican Brandon Ronald Simpson in the November general election.[17] On November 17, 2022, McMorrow announced that she would serve as Senate Majority Whip in 102nd Senate session.

In July 2022, McMorrow said that abortion restrictions due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade would have prevented her from getting her IUD removed in an emergency procedure due to the need for dilation and curettage. She said without the D&C procedure she could have had permanent damage to her reproductive system, making her unable to get pregnant again, or it could have gotten infected and resulted in her death.[18]

On August 19, 2024, McMorrow delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention and brought out a giant copy of the roughly 900-page Project 2025. It became one of the Democratic Party's most consistent tools against the campaign of Donald Trump and she said, "They went ahead and wrote down all the extreme things that Trump wants to do in the next four years". She gave her support to Kamala Harris for president.[19] McMorrow's debut book, Hate Won't Win: Find Your Power and Leave This Place Better Than We Found It, was published by Hachette Book Group on March 25, 2025.[20][21]

In April 2025, McMorrow announced that she would run in the Democratic primary to replace United States Senator Gary Peters, who had announced he would not stand for re-election in 2026.[22]

Political positions

While expressing respect for Democratic Party leaders, McMorrow privately wrote to Joe Biden in July 2024 urging him to step down from the ticket and has expressed the need for new leadership in the party, saying in an interview published in March 2025 that "it is time to have new leadership who can build up the muscle to respond to the moment."[23]

McMorrow condemned the alleged harassment and antisemitism of pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses at the University of Michigan and reached out to pro-Israel Democratic groups to emphasize her support for Israel during her candidacy for the 2026 United States Senate election in Michigan.[24] When asked about the role of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in the Senate election she responded "two things can be true simultaneously... that Hamas started a violent war, and that war needs to end." McMorrow expressed support for a two-state solution, for the return of hostages, and for providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, saying that peace has been a hallmark of the Democratic Party policy for decades.[25] She has declined to say whether she'd vote for further security aid for Israel without conditions, wanting to see the legislation first.[26]

Often labeled a progressive, McMorrow instead calls herself a pragmatist. She has said that she would not have won her district if she aligned with far-left politics. She favors a public option that would allow individuals to buy into Medicare or other government insurance over Medicare For All. As chairwoman of the Senate Economic and Community Development Committee, she pushed for more community investments in things like regional transit and childcare to supplement the state's traditional reliance on incentives for big companies for economic development.[26]

Personal life

McMorrow married Ray Wert, the former head of Gawker's content sales department and editor of the weblog Jalopnik. The wedding was held in June 2017 in the Eastern Market district of Detroit.[27] They have a daughter named Noa born in January 2021 and they live in Royal Oak, Michigan.[28] Wert is Jewish and McMorrow is Catholic.[29]

Electoral history

2018 Michigan Senate, 13th district, Democratic Party primary election[30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mallory McMorrow Unopposed
Total votes 35,222 100.0
2018 Michigan Senate, 13th district, general election[31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mallory McMorrow 73,138 51.9
Republican Marty Knollenberg 67,798 48.1
Total votes 140,936 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican
2022 Michigan Senate, 8th district, Democratic Party primary election[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mallory McMorrow 32,738 68.45
Democratic Marshall Bullock 15,093 31.55
Total votes 47,831 100.00
2022 Michigan Senate, 8th district, general election[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mallory McMorrow 94,809 78.94
Republican Brandon Ronald Simpson 25,290 21.06
Total votes 120,099 100.00
Democratic hold

References

  1. ^ a b Allmen, Philip (November 7, 2018). "For state Senate 13th District, it's McMorrow for the win". Hometown Life. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  2. ^ "Class of 2004: Hunterdon Central Regional High School", Courier News,June 28, 2004. Accessed January 29, 2023, via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Woodward, Alex (April 20, 2022). "Michigan Democrat blasts GOP 'groomer' slurs in powerful speech". The Independent. New York. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  4. ^ Jenkins, Jack (April 23, 2022). "State Sen. Mallory McMorrow on reclaiming faith from those using it as 'a weapon to hate people'". Religion News. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Zukas, Michael. "Senator Mallory McMorrow". Michigan State Senate. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Alumna Builds Design Career Based on Creativity, Communication, Collaboration // Latest News // College of Arts and Letters". University of Notre Dame. October 9, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Wren, Adam (July 1, 2022). "The Michigan Democrat Who Could Solve Her Party's Identity Crisis". Politico. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Donnelly, Francis X. (October 15, 2018). "Oakland County becomes epicenter of fight to control Michigan House". Detroit News. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  9. ^ Pohl, Scott (December 24, 2018). "From Auto Designer To MI Senator: Mallory McMorrow". WKAR. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  10. ^ Zukas, Michael (January 3, 2019). "Senator Jim Ananich / Senate Democratic Leadership Positions Announced". Michigan Senate Democrats. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Budryk, Zack (January 26, 2020). "Three women accuse Michigan state lawmaker of sexual harassment". The Hill. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  12. ^ Mauger, Craig (June 3, 2021). "Republican-controlled Michigan Senate recognizes LGBTQ Pride Month". Detroit News. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d Boucher, Dave (April 19, 2022). "Michigan Sen. Mallory McMorrow blasts colleague Lana Theis on Senate floor in viral speech". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  14. ^ Rogulski, Ken; Mathews, Jessica (April 20, 2022). "Local Lawmaker Blasted For Invocation, Email". WHMI. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  15. ^ Melinn, Kyle (February 3, 2022). "State Senate likely to be less Black under new maps". Lansing City Pulse. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  16. ^ Boucher, Dave (August 3, 2022). "Mallory McMorrow cruises to victory in metro Detroit state senate primary". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  17. ^ Noble, Breana (November 9, 2022). "Oakland County State Senate: Webber leads Kuppa in 9th District". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  18. ^ Donahue, Allison (July 14, 2022). "McMorrow: 'I might be dead right now' without Roe v. Wade". Michigan Advance. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  19. ^ Cappelletti, Joey; Gomez, Adriana (August 19, 2024). "Throwing the book: Democrats enlarge a copy of the 'Project 2025' blueprint as an anti-GOP prop". Associated Press. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  20. ^ Brunner, Raven (September 4, 2024). "Mallory McMorrow Promises Hate Won't Win: See the Cover of Her New Book (Exclusive)". People. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  21. ^ McMorrow, Mallory (2025). Hate Won't Win: Find Your Power and Leave This Place Better Than You Found It. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-0-306-83540-7.
  22. ^ "Mallory McMorrow jumps into Michigan's Senate race with a call for change in the Democratic Party". NBC News. April 2, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  23. ^ Wren, Adam (March 25, 2025). "A Rising Democratic Star is Ready for New Leadership - Without Chuck Schumer". Politico. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  24. ^ Kraushaar, Josh (April 23, 2025). "Daily Kickoff: The Democratic divide in Michigan". Jewish Insider. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  25. ^ Laguerre, Hernz (May 10, 2025). "State Sen. Mallory McMorrow on why she's running for US Senate". WDET 101.9 FM. 22:20 - 25:00. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  26. ^ a b Democrat Mallory McMorrow jumps into Michigan's open U.S. Senate race
  27. ^ McMorrow, Mallory; Wert, Ray (June 24, 2021). "McMorrow and Wert: Raising kids or having a career doesn't have to be a binary choice for women. Here's how to change that". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  28. ^ Stamm, Alan (February 19, 2021). "This new mom, a Royal Oak state senator, sees workplace policies from both sides now". Deadline Detroit. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  29. ^ Mallory McMorrow [@MalloryMcMorrow] (March 19, 2024). "Catholic here. This ain't it" (Tweet). Retrieved August 19, 2024 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ 2018 Michigan Election Results. State of Michigan. September 24, 2018.
  31. ^ "2018 Michigan Election Results". November 7, 2018.
  32. ^ 2022 Michigan Election Results. State of Michigan. November 10, 2022.
  33. ^ "2022 Michigan Election Results". November 10, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.