Hill Harper was a name I'd never heard before yesterday. His acting career is a steady one, mostly in TV. He has been steadily working since 1993. He's more than just a pretty-faced actor! Harper has a BA from Brown in Economics and Sociology and two masters from Harvard. He also played basketball at Harvard with Barry Obama. He's a multi-faceted, interesting guy. Should he run for Michigan's Democratic Senate seat 2024, where he has only lived 5 years? He announced his candidacy on yesterday:

Hill Harper, an actor and former Michigan senator, announced Monday that he will challenge U.S. Rep. Elissa slotkin for the Democratic nomination to fill a Michigan Senate Seat in 2024.

Harper, 57 and Slotkin 47 will both be running to replace retiring Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow. This is expected to one of the most competitive (and costly) Senate races in 2024.

Harper reads a message in a video campaign posted on Monday morning to his adopted son, Pierce.

Harper, in the voiceover for the advertisement, says "Dear Pierce," "I'm going to make a major announcement. I'm recording this video just for you." It's going be hard for us."

Harper says, as clips of the actor and son are shown, "You know I won't be able to tuck in you every night or do our prayers at night together... Fighting for your beliefs is hard, but worth it when you find something that makes you heart beat faster. "And for me, you."

Harper says, "Adopting you was the best thing I ever did in my life."

Harper, who portrays Dr. Marcus Andrews in the ABC medical drama The Good Doctor moved to Detroit, Michigan, in 2018. She bought a local roaster, and since then has spent a lot of time renovating one the most historic homes.

This is his first campaign for public office. Harper studied at Brown University and Harvard Law before pursuing a career in acting.

"We live in a state in which I believe the triple-blue leadership in Lansing did incredibly hard work to move the state forward. But in Washington, D.C. it's still broke. People still feel that it is broken. "I'm among them," said the actor in a statement given to The Detroit News.

He added: "Our state will be held back if there is no energized and bold leadership in the U.S. Senate." We deserve better than the politics of today, which is why I am running for U.S. Senate.

Harper told The Detroit News that he was not sure if, if he were elected, he'd continue filming The Good Doctor. He noted that filming had been put on hold due to the Writers Guild of America strike.

"That's impossible because we are on strike." The industry is currently on strike. Who knows, since nothing is happening in the industry? He told the outlet.

Harper will face a steep uphill battle when launching her campaign against Slotkin. Slotkin announced her campaign more than four months ago, and since then has raised over $5 million. She also secured several high-profile endorsements.

[From People]

Harper refused to commit to giving up acting if elected senator. He said it was difficult to predict with the strike of writers. If he is elected, Harper will begin working as a Senator in January 2025. Does he mean that the strike would still be ongoing in 2025? Second, he will not be filming in the event that he is elected to Congress. It's difficult to imagine that Michigan would choose him over Rep. Elissa slotkin, despite his dynamic and educated personality. I looked up her name and it turns out that her birthday was yesterday. He announced his candidacy on her birthday!

Below you can watch the video and decide for yourself if the concept of speaking to his son works for you. I didn't find it effective. "You know, you're not going to have me tucking you in at night or doing our nighttime prayers with you." He is choosing to run. He didn't have do this. It's not a logical or expected next step for his career.

I've already said all that before even addressing the question: Aren't our stakes too high for an actor to break into the US Senate at this time?

We need representatives that will take on special interest, remove money from politics and make our government work to benefit all of us.

Today, I announce my candidacy for the U.S. Senate of Michigan!



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Hill Harper (@hillharper), July 10, 2023

photos credit: Michael Simon/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images, Olivier Huitel / Avalon and via social media