Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has endorsed Democratic Representative Haley Stevens in Michigan’s US Senate primary, giving Stevens a potentially significant boost shortly before early in-person voting begins. The endorsement matters because Whitmer is a popular, high-profile figure in a battleground state and the contest has become a prominent test of the Democratic Party’s moderate and progressive wings.

Stevens is running against progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed to succeed the retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters, who has also endorsed her. Whitmer, who defeated El-Sayed in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, said Stevens would “get things done” for Michigan; the primary is scheduled for 4 August, with early in-person voting beginning on 25 July.