Detroit pastor who prayed at Trump's inauguration considering U.S. Senate bid
Republican Lorenzo Sewell, a Detroit pastor who led a prayer at President Donald Trump's inauguration, confirmed Friday that he's considering running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan next year.
Sewell, 44, has become a somewhat well-known figure in state GOP politics over the last two years as an ally of Trump in Michigan's largest city. He's spoken and delivered invocations at a variety of major political events, including the Republican National Convention in July and Michigan's meeting of the electoral college in December.
“I am keeping all options open," Sewell told The Detroit News when asked about a potential U.S. Senate bid.
Sewell said he planned to pray about the possibility of running for the Senate but said he was already serving as an advocate for Michigan in Washington, D.C.
Trump held a campaign stop at Sewell's 180 Church in Detroit in June.
At the time, Sewell said his church, which has a congregation of about 300 people, would open its doors to any political leader who wanted to hear about the "pains and injustices in the communities that we serve."
In 2026, Michigan voters will elect a new U.S. senator after Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, decided not to run for re-election.
On the Democratic side, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak, has already launched a bid for the seat. And many Democrats expect former candidate for governor Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor and current U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham to join the primary race.
As for Republicans, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake Township is expected to announce his bid for the U.S. Senate next week. In 2024, Rogers was the Republican nominee for the Senate and endorsed by Trump, but he lost a close contest to Democrat Elissa Slotkin of Holly, 48.3%-48.6%.
In addition to Sewell and Rogers, other Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga of Holland, state Sen. Jonathan Lindsey of Coldwater and former gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon of Norton Shores, have also been weighing whether to seek their party's Senate nomination.
In an interview, Sewell said he's already been working on behalf of the people of Michigan, where he's been pushing for what he described as "fair elections" and community investments. On Thursday, Sewell posted a photo on Facebook with Peter Navarro, a Trump trade policy adviser, in Washington, D.C.
"He is very interested in helping us regarding election fraud," Sewell wrote on Facebook of Navarro.
During his prayer at Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, Sewell quoted at length from Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech.
Sewell prayed that God would use the country's president and prayed that Americans can "live in a nation where we will not be judged by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character" ― a well-known line from King's dream speech.
After Sewell finished his prayer in the Capitol rotunda, Trump briefly embraced the pastor and told him: "'You're special. You're so good.'"
cmauger@detroitnews.com
Staff Writer Melissa Nann Burke contributed.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit pastor who prayed at Trump's inauguration considering U.S. Senate bid