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Mike Rogers and Elissa Slotkin
Though Hill Harper was a popular TV actor, he wasn't able to leverage that fame into a victory in Tuesday's Michigan Democratic primary, going down in defeat in the U.S. Senate race against Congress member Elissa Slotkin. Former Congressman Mike Rogers won the Republican primary for Senate.
The Associated Press called the race with 10 percent of the Democratic vote counted, and Slotkin leading 75.1 percent to 24.9 percent.
In the Republican race for Senate, Mike Rogers, who was backed by Donald Trump, had 71.1 percent of vote with 7 percent counted.
Slotkin, 48, and Rogers, 61, will now square off in November.
It was an uphill battle for Harper, a Detroit transplant who opened a coffee shop in downtown Detroit.
The Democratic party in Michigan had pretty much annointed Slotkin as its candidate, making his challenge all the more difficult.
Harper, 58, was known for his roles as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes in CSI: NY, Agent Spelman Boyle in Limitless, and Dr. Marcus Andrews in The Good Doctor.
Born in Iowa City, Iowa, his parents were medical doctors. He attended undergrad at Brown University and earned a law degree at Harvard where he attended law school with Barak Obama.
He had the support of some notables including comedian Dave Chappelle, who performed on his behalf in Detroit to raise money for the campaign.
Still, Slotkin outraised him.
Bridge Michigan reported last month that Slotkin raised roughly $6.5 million in the previously three months, and reported $9.5 million in reserves. During that same time, Harper raised just under $390,000 in contributions. Nearly $100,000 came from small, unitemized donations.
Slotkin will need the money to compete in the general election against Rogers.
Rogers, who is not wild about Trump, decided to endorse him to help his chances in the Republican primary. Trump in turn, endorsed him.
Trump has been a kingmaker in Michigan's Republican primary races, but his candidates have generally lost in the general elections since 2018.
Rogers refused to endorse Trump in the 2016 and 2020 election.
