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Republican candidate Bob Young steps down from US Senate race

A photo of Bob Young from his campaign's facebook page
Bob Young Jr.
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The former chief justice of the state Supreme Court says he hopes dropping out of the primary race helps Republicans rally more quickly around a candidate to go up against Democrat Debbie Stabenow

The 2018 U.S. Senate race got a shake-up Wednesday, but not because someone was entering the race. Instead, the shake-up came from Republican Bob Young's decision to step down as a candidate. 

Young is the former Chief Justice for the Michigan Supreme Court. He was running for his party’s nomination to take on long-time incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow.

Young made the announcement on radio station WJR. He said the Republicans need to gather around a candidate as soon as possible – so he’s reducing the competition.

“I don’t need another public office and I thought the better course to ensure her defeat was for me to step aside,” he said.

Young said the Republicans need consensus going into the August primary. That way, he said, they can use the momentum to defeat Stabenow.

“I think having three very competitive players in the mix makes it very difficult to get to that acceleration point in the summer,” he said.

Businessman John James and financier Sandy Pensler are still in the race for the Republican spot on the ticket. Voters will decide who goes up against the Democratic candidate during the August primary. 

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R
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