‘The Good Doctor’s Hill Harper Officially Running for U.S. Senate — Watch Announcement (VIDEO)
The Good Doctor star Hill Harper is officially running for the United States Senate. The actor announced his run for office on Monday, July 10. See his campaign announcement video below.
Harper is running to represent the state of Michigan, going up against Democratic Representative Elissa Slotkin. They’re both running to fill outgoing senator Debbie Stabenow’s seat. Harper, a single dad who lives in Michigan with his son, Pierce, plays Dr. Marcus Andrews in the ABC medical drama, which was renewed for Season 7 in April just before the May Season 6 finale.
Harper’s Dr. Andrews stepped down as president of the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital during the finale, which could open the door to an exit from the long-running series. Harper — one of the three remaining original series regulars in the cast — has not revealed whether this means he’s leaving The Good Doctor. TV Insider reached out to ABC and Sony for comment.
We can all feel it: D.C just isn’t getting things done for people.
We need representatives who’ll take on special interests, get money out of politics, and make our government work for all of us.
That’s why today, I’m announcing my campaign for U.S. Senate in Michigan! ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/lv11ncDcsK
— Hill Harper (@hillharper) July 10, 2023
Harper reads a note to his son, Pierce, aloud in his announcement video, saying the road ahead will be “tough” for their family as he splits his time between the campaign and his personal life. “But these are sacrifices so many hardworking families have to make every single day,” he says. “Fighting for what you believe in is hard enough, but it’s worth doing when you’ve found something that makes your heart beat faster. And for me, that’s you.”
Harper then lists accomplishments he feels make him equipped for the job of Michigan’s Senator, such as starting a non-profit organization, owning a small business in Detroit, and his ivy league degrees. He also mentions beating cancer and speaking on President Barack Obama’s cancer panel. Harper and the former President used to shoot hoops together, according to Puck News‘ report on his tentative Senate run back in March 2023. The outlet reported at the time that Harper would announce his candidacy in April.
In the video, Harper says his greatest accomplishment was adopting his son, who is his inspiration for running for office. “The world you’re growing up in doesn’t feel like it’s getting any better,” he says. “It’s more divisive and more dangerous. When you told me that you were afraid to go to school because of shootings, that’s not freedom. Our economy works for the richest while the most vulnerable have to work even harder than ever to keep up. That’s not freedom. At the core of so much of this are too many politicians in office that really don’t care about people.”
Harper has starred alongside Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy and Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman since The Good Doctor Season 1, which debuted in 2017.
