Sen. Debbie Stabenow Has HAD IT With You People, IS OUT OF HERE!

Or nicer than that, and in 2024.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow announced today that she won't seek reelection in 2024 and plans to retire at the end of the current Congress, which at least on the Senate side of the Capitol has actually begun. In an interview with the Detroit News, Stabenow explained that she was inspired by the outcome of the November midterms, and believes the "energy" of young voters and the fact that Democrats flipped both houses in Michigan's legislature mean this is a good time to "pass the torch" to the next generation of Michigan Dems.

“I’ve had a wonderful career and honor of breaking barriers and being the first woman to reach various historic milestones, but I never felt it was enough to be a first if there wasn’t a second and third and fourth and so on,” said Stabenow, who serves as the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate leadership.

Stabenow, 72, was the first woman elected to the Senate by Michigan, in 2001, after serving two terms in the House and 15 years in the Michigan state Lege. She told the Detroit News that her decision was also partly personal, saying she wanted to spend "precious" time with her mother, who's 96, and with her five grandkids. She also noted in her statement that the women who have been second and third and so on have really impressed her:

“When I ran for the State Legislature in 1978, there were only eight women serving in the State House and none in the State Senate or top statewide offices. This year there are 44 women serving in the State House and 15 in the Senate! Women hold the top three statewide elected offices, and we have the first female Majority Leader in the State Senate!

You can also add to that tally Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the first woman to serve as President Pro Tempore in the US Senate, making her third in line for the presidency — or at the moment, second, since there's no speaker of the House. Those losers.

Not surprisingly, Republicans said they can hardly wait to run some lunatic for the seat, although perhaps not in so many words, while Democrats spoke of the challenge of finding a worthy successor to such a respected senator — perhaps while scrambling to put together 2024 campaign teams. It's a good day to be a pollster or consultant!

As it happens, the Detroit News managed to find a Democratic political consultant for comment, one Adrian Hemond of the firm Grassroots Midwest. Hemond called Stabenow the "best retail politician in the state," and noted that she's the last of a long line of national leaders from Michigan:

Debbie Stabenow is one of the is one of the longest-running institutions in Michigan politics right now. John Dingell is gone, John Conyers is gone, Carl Levin is gone, Sandy Levin. Debbie is kind of it in terms of the old lions [...]

It's certainly going to diminish the state's influence in the Senate a bit, partly just based on seniority and partly based on her role on the Agriculture Committee, which is obviously super important to the state.

Hell, Hemond is making me feel old and I'm not even from Michigan.

Speculation about possible 2024 candidates is already rolling, including everyone's favorite state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, but maybe Rep. Elissa Slotkin or possibly Secretary Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who the News points out "became a resident of Traverse City last year." In the Sekrit ChatCave, Wonkette Editrix Rebecca Schoenkopf, who moved to Detroit last year too, quickly took herself out of the running, even though her immense personal wealth, estimated by somebody in the comments, is upward of four million dollars.

As for the other bunch, the News says

names floated by political insiders included newly retired U.S. Rep. Fred Upton of St. Joseph and Rep.-elect John James, who previously ran twice for the Senate in 2020 and 2018, when he lost to Stabenow.

What, no Tudor Dixon? Again, it's far too early to rule out that some lunatic may win the nomination. Maybe one of the creeps convicted of planning to kidnap and murder Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will run from prison, arguing that makes them the most MAGA candidate available.

For her final two years as a senator, Stabenow says her priorities include passing a new five-year Farm Bill, and continuing her support for mental health services, protecting the Great Lakes, and keeping manufacturing strong in Michigan. You know, like with all the EV tech that the infrastructure, Chips and Science, and Climate bills will be promoting. It's kind of a cool time to be in the car business.

It also feels like a good time to be a Democrat, if only for the chance to remind America that Democrats have spent two years getting some awesome things done, while Republicans ... well Jebus, just look at them. 

[ Detroit News / Senator Debbie Stabenow / NBC News / Photo:  Senate Democrats, Creative Commons License 2.0 ]

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