John James wins Michigan’s GOP Senate nomination

Michigan U.S. Senate candidate John James gives a thumbs up after casting his ballot on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018 at Orchard United Methodist Church in Farmington Hills, Mich. (Max Ortiz/Detroit News via AP)

(AP) — Detroit-area businessman and Iraq War veteran John James has won the Republican nomination to run against Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow this fall.

James is a political newcomer endorsed by President Donald Trump. He defeated Sandy Pensler in Tuesday’s primary.

Stabenow is seeking a fourth Senate term and has easily fended off past challengers, but Trump’s narrow 2016 victory in Michigan has the GOP hopeful it can flip the seat.

The 37-year-old James is an executive at his family’s automotive logistics companies and a West Point graduate who flew helicopters during the Iraq War.

He is Michigan’s first black Republican nominee for a major statewide office in more than three decades, but he has said he only wants to be assessed on his character.