Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s new book details the behind-the-scenes fallout the Royal Oak Democrat faced in Lansing after she publicly accused a fellow senator of sexual harassment in 2020.
The book, entitled “Hate Won’t Win: Find Your Power and Leave This Place Better Than You Found It,” will be released Tuesday. In it, McMorrow, 38, who’s viewed by many as a rising star in Democratic politics, discusses her personal experience as a candidate and lawmaker and provides guidance for people who want to become more engaged with their government.
The book’s third chapter focuses on McMorrow’s account of what played out in 2020 after she filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Senate against then-Sen. Pete Lucido, R-Shelby Township. At an orientation for new lawmakers in November 2018, Lucido, while touching McMorrow’s lower back, looked her up and down and said he could see why she won her race for the Senate, McMorrow wrote.
McMorrow wrote that she felt Lucido’s “eyes assess every inch of my body and score me in his mind like a purebred at a dog show.” Lucido of Shelby Township is currently the Macomb County prosecutor.
McMorrow first came forward with her story about Lucido in January 2020, after a journalist, Allison Donahue, revealed that when she approached Lucido for an interview in front of a group of high school boys, Lucido suggested the group of boys “could have a lot of fun” with her.
Lucido has pushed back against the accusations of wrongdoing, including denying those from McMorrow.
McMorrow wrote that, through a phone conversation, she informed then-Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, that she had gone to the media about her experience with Lucido. Shirkey was “furious” and labeled her decision a “stain on the institution,” McMorrow wrote.
“Oh, you’ll get your media scene all right,” Shirkey added, according to the book.
The chapter about the situation is entitled “A Stain on the Institution.”
After the 2020 phone conversation ended, Shirkey called McMorrow back and said his wife, Sue, had told him to “apologize for my tone,” McMorrow wrote. Shirkey didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the passages in McMorrow’s book.
McMorrow’s new book, which is being released as she mulls a U.S. Senate campaign, includes blurbs from businessman Mark Cuban and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey.
“This is a story about the power we all have,” McMorrow writes in the book’s prologue.
VoteVets attacks James
The group VoteVets went after Republican U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, last week with TV and digital ads and mobile billboards critical of the congressman for not stopping Elon Musk’s “war on veterans.”
The TV ad features a group of veterans sitting around in a circle and telling the stories of how they were laid off from their jobs with the federal government, despite positive performance reviews.
“I did not put my life on the line for some tech bro billionaire from South Africa to come in here and try to destroy our country,” one of the veterans says in the ad.
The reference is to tech titan Elon Musk, whose government cost-cutting team has fired thousands of federal workers and slashed contracts and leases across the government. Veterans have been disproportionately impacted because such a high percentage work for the U.S. government.
VoteVets said it spent six figures to air the ads during last week’s congressional recess on local news and on streaming platforms such as Youtube TV and Hulu, as well as a separate billboard that sat outside James’ office in Warren, a spokesman said.
The ads targeted five GOP military veterans serving in the U.S. House including James and Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Jennifer Kiggans of Virginia, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Zach Nunn of Iowa.
James’ office didn’t comment on the ad, but the Army veteran told The Detroit News this month that he’s been in direct communication with Trump administration leadership to ensure that his constituents’ concerns are addressed.
“This is something that is top of mind for me personally, and I’m having these calls myself, and this is something that’s very, very serious,” James said.
“We have a number of competing obligations, and we need to make sure that we are being fiscally responsible, but also make sure that we’re being appropriate, proportional and humane.”
James, who is mentioned as a potential candidate for governor next year, noted that some federal employees have been able to get reinstated through an appeals process. U.S. judges have ordered some others to be reinstated, as well.
“These are the types of things that are going to take care of people and keep our nation safe and, frankly, take care of the folks who put their lives on the line and their families,” James said.
“These are the things that the administration does truly care about and things that I care about personally, as well. Again, as a veteran myself, I’m taking this personally.”
GOP targets KMR
A national Republican campaign group announced last week that it will target just one Michigan swing district next year ― that held by freshman U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City.
Michigan’s 8th District, which covers the Tri-Cities region, is among the National Republican Congressional Committee’s 26 targeted seats for the election cycle.
“Out-of-touch Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet continues to put the radical far-left agenda ahead of Michiganders,” NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon said in a statement. “House Republicans are on offense and will hold McDonald Rivet accountable; she will lose her seat next year.”
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s spokesperson, Justin Chermol, responded by saying, “bring it on.”
“Rep. McDonald Rivet has proven to be a common-sense leader focused on the issues that matter most to everyday Michiganders, like lowering the cost of living and making our communities safer,” Chermol said. “McDonald Rivet defied political gravity last year by outperforming Democrats across the state and country, and it’s why we’re confident she’ll win reelection in 2026.”
The decision to target just one Democrat-held seat is a shift from two years ago when the NRCC targeted three in Michigan: The 8th, as well as Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten of Grand Rapids in the 3rd District, as well as the 7th District ― then an open seat that was since won by GOP Rep. Tom Barrett of Charlotte. The 7th is again rated a tossup by the nonpartisan political handicappers at the Cook Political Report.
Scholten was dropped from the NRCC target list after winning reelection in November by 10 percentage points, defeating republican Paul Hudson.
The DCCC has not yet released a list of its battleground for 2026, though it did list McDonald Rivet earlier in the year among its frontliner members from competitive districts. The former state lawmaker is actively exploring a potential run for U.S. Senate.
Here’s Grimace
Grimace, a purple creature shaped somewhat like a pear with legs and who serves as a mascot for the fast food chain McDonald’s, caused a stir inside the Michigan Capitol on Tuesday as he appeared in the building and took photos with lawmakers and passers-by.
Grimace was there because lawmakers approved, on Tuesday, a resolution to commemorate 2025 as the 50th anniversary of the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
“The mission of the Ronald McDonald Charities is to provide essential services that remove barriers, strengthen families, and promote healing when children need healthcare,” the resolution said.
Grimace watched from the gallery as the Michigan Senate OKed the resolution. Earlier in the day, he and other representatives from McDonald’s could be seen meeting with Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, in the lobby outside the Senate chamber.
Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, could be overheard saying that he loves McDonald’s before he stood next to Grimace for a photo in the Capitol’s rotunda.
Tweet of the Week
The Insider report’s “Tweet of the Week,” recognizing a social media post that was worthy of attention or, possibly, just a laugh, from the previous week goes to Grimace for all of the messages he inspired during his Michigan Capitol appearance on Tuesday.
There was bipartisan love for Grimace. House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, apparently called him an underutilized character, and Michigan Senate Democrats posted a photo.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
mburke@detroitnews.com
