Republican Peter Meijer has withdrawn from the GOP primary for an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan.
Just before the 4 p.m. deadline, the Michigan Secretary of State website of unofficial candidates showed Meijer had "withdrawn."
Around 5 p.m., his campaign sent out a statement saying he withdrew his name because "without a strong pathway to victory, continuing this campaign only increases the likelihood of a divisive primary that would distract from the essential goal - conservative victories in November."
Meijer was elected to the U.S. House in 2020 and was one of several Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after the January 6 insurrection.
He lost his 2022 primary to a Trump-backed opponent, John Gibbs, and the seat eventually flipped from Republican to Democrat when Rep. Hillary Scholten beat Gibbs.
The candidate list now shows four Republicans left in the race – former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, Sandy Pensler and Dr. Sherry O'Donnell.
Three Democrats will compete in the primary – U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, actor Hill Harper and Nasser Beydoun.
The winners of each primary will face off for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
