Rachel Howard (Michigan)
Rachel Howard (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Michigan. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Howard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Rachel Howard was born in Rochester, Michigan. She served in the U.S. Army National Guard from 2005 to 2019. Howard earned a high school diploma from Romeo High School, a bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University, a graduate degree from Wayne State University, and a graduate degree from George Washington University. Her career experience includes working as a researcher.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: United States Senate election in Michigan, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for U.S. Senate Michigan
The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. Senate Michigan on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Abdul El-Sayed (D) | |
 | Rachel Howard (D)  | |
 | Mallory McMorrow (D) | |
 | Haley Stevens (D) | |
| Travis Zollner (D) | ||
| Kent Benham (R) | ||
 | Frederick Heurtebise (R) | |
 | Andrew Kamal (R) | |
 | Mike Rogers (R) | |
| Genevieve Scott (R) | ||
 | TJ Stephens (Unaffiliated) | |
 | Lydia Christensen (Independent) | |
| Craig Henley Johnson (Independent) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Joseph Tate (D)
- Gary Peters (D)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Rachel Howard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Howard's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Rachel deployed as a combat medic to Iraq and Afghanistan where she became 1 of less than 500 females to be awarded a Purple Heart. After he medical retirement in 2019, she went on to clinical research eventually choosing to continue her service at the Veterans Health Administration in Ann Arbor, MI. It was here that she joined a clinical and research team dedicated to helping veterans with deployment related respiratory illnesses.
Rachel went on to resign from the VHA in 2026 after becoming frustrated at the lack of representation and actionable plans for Michiganders needs.
Educationally, Rachel earned a bachelor's degree in allied health, a Master of Social Work in Leadership and Systems Change, and a Master of Public Health in Global Health.- Family economics: Michigan needs to find realistic and affordable housing solutions throughout the state. We need to create options for quality affordable daycare for families, including allowing for the full deduction of childcare, aftercare, and schooling for children from taxes in the same way we do for mortgages. Finally, Michigan needs to prioritize bringing in secure, well-paying jobs throughout the state.
- Improve the educational system: Rachel believes in focusing on grade-school education that prepares our children for the academic and practical aspects of life. Vocational and academic education after grade-school graduation needs to be accessible and affordable, ensuring we have the skilled labor needed to build our state as well as secure technological advantages for the future.
- Support for Veterans: Advocating for veterans' benefits isn't just the right thing to do, it's also our duty. Almost 6% of Michiganders are veterans- they deserve access to quality Veterans Service Officers, Veterans Health Services, and telehealth measures to meet their needs when travel isn't practical.
All of these stages of development, experiences, and personal reflection have led me to value a few things that I pray will be my legacy.
1. That the people I have known are better off for having me in their lives, to know that I have made someone's life even a little bit better.
2. To teach my children and those around me the value of humility, empathy, and understanding.
Over the next decade we have real problems that will need to be addressed- out of proportion purchasing power that leaves citizens struggling to pay for necessities, lack of affordable housing, health care costs, declining populations, decrease in robust job markets.
Past experience does give our senators a shared language, understanding of the priorities of the other members of Congress, and ease of the physical drafting of legislation. What it does not give them, however, is fresh perspective. Continued election of career politicians also feeds into a system too much power into the hands of a few. As time continues, repeat politicians have a tendency to lose their connection with their constituency, and focus on their personal agenda as opposed to the priorities of the people they represent.
A government must be accountable to its citizens and citizens have a right to know how and why its elected officials make policy decisions.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 17, 2025
