Senate Conservatives Fund endorses John James for Senate in Michigan

In 2018, conservative Republicans are looking forward to challenging ten incumbent Senate Democrats in states President Donald Trump won in 2016, in hopes of defeating them with bona fide conservatives. In one of these states, Michigan, the Senate Conservatives Fund has endorsed a candidate to oust liberal Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

The SCF announced Tuesday it would back political outsider John James for U.S. Senate. James, a husband and father of two young children, businessman, and combat veteran is running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. He is a West Point graduate and served in Iraq as a Ranger-qualified aviation officer, earning a Combat Action Badge and two Air Medals.

After eight years of military service, James returned to Michigan to run his family's global supply chain logistics company. Succeeding as a businessman, James created more than 100 new jobs in Michigan and increased the revenue of his company from $35 million in 2012 to $137 million in 2017. At 36 years old, he is one of the youngest candidates running for U.S. Senate this cycle.

"John James is a rock-solid conservative who is passionate about our country and the principles of freedom that make it great," SCF president Ken Cuccinelli said in a statement announcing the endorsement. "He’s a pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, pro-free markets conservative who has demonstrated energetic and effective leadership."

What was once shaping up as a crowded Republican primary field, with several high-profile potential candidates including Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bob Young, and speculative candidate and outsider Kid Rock, has cleared since each announced he would not run. James still faces Republican businessman Sandy Pensler, who has invested $5 million of his own money into the race for the Republican nomination.

According to FEC reports, James' campaign has raised $309,154, though earlier this month his campaign told the Detroit News he would have a "strong fundraising quarter."

Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow is sitting on a massive $6.9 million warchest for her re-election campaign. The Republican who ultimately wins the primary will need to demonstrate both the ability to fundraise and the support of grassroots conservatives to have a chance at unseating the incumbent progressive.

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