MichMash: Sen. Debbie Stabenow discusses passing the torch to the next generation

When U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow announced earlier this year her plans to retire after her current term ends, she said she was “inspired by a new generation of leaders.”

The first woman U.S. senator for the state of Michigan chatted with MichMash host Cheyna Roth about her legacy and how she plans to solidify her work in her final term. 

In this episode:

• Senator Stabenow’s support of and participation in the Farm Bill.
• The current and future leadership of the Michigan Democratic Party.
• Senator Stabenow’s plans after her term is done in January of 2025

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As a college student, Stabenow never thought she would end up working in the U.S. Senate.

“I got involved in a community effort to save a nursing home in the Lansing area…one thing led to another and people encouraged me to go on a county board of commissioners,” said Stabenow.

She ended up helping to protect that nursing home and went on to continue her path of assisting the community through the public sector and trying to make government work for the people.

In her retirement announcement, Stabenow stated she was passing the torch to the next generation of leadership.

When asked who those leaders are, Stabenow responded that Michigan’s leadership inspires her.  

“It’s so exciting to see the women leaders that have come behind me. When I was in the state House, there was [sic] eight of us — no state senators, nobody statewide, nobody in Congress,” Stabeow recalls. “It was a very different time, and so to have our governor and lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general bring great diversity and strength in leadership — African American leader Joe Tate — we have lot of leaders. We do not have to worry about what’s coming next.” 

Stabenow’s final term will run until January 2025.

More from MichMash:

• Detroit Evening Report: Actor Hill Harper announces US Senate bid to replace Debbie Stabenow
• Stabenow’s surprise retirement changes everything about 2024 US Senate race
• Detroit Evening Report: Michigan farmers call on state lawmakers to pass ‘right to repair’ bill