While running for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat, Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow is crisscrossing a state known for its auto industry with a unique trend: keeping bees instead.
She often warns that the rise of artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to the manufacturing-based economy Podcast And in Public events. McMorrow is also proud of the work she and others have done to strengthen apprenticeship programs and encourage less obvious career paths.
She speaks passionately about winemaking and beer brewing. She is particularly passionate about beekeeping.
“You can go into a certified apprenticeship, maybe discover that you always wanted to be a beekeeper and didn’t know it, and now you have a great career,” McMorrow said last month in an article. Video chat With the Common Good, a nonpartisan advocacy group.
It’s an approach McMorrow describes as hopeful and forward-looking — and an alternative to what she sees as a dangerously single-minded focus on the auto industry, the long-standing lifeblood of Michigan’s economy.
“When the auto industry is doing well, we do well,” McMorrow, 39, said in an interview with NBC News. “When it goes down, we decline.” “That was an Achilles’ heel for us. Between that and the fact that we, for Millennials and Gen Z, are not going to have the job security that our parents had, it’s very likely that you’re going to have to change careers multiple times throughout your working life.”
McMorrow’s letter also represents a major point of tension in next year’s Senate Democratic primary. Rep. Haley Stevens, one of her rivals for the nomination, has made Michigan’s rich manufacturing history – and Her work in the Obama administration In the era of the Great Recession Rescue plan for Detroit’s Big Three automakers – Central to her campaign.
Their race is really a study in traditional versus unconventional, like One of a handful of 2026 primaries that will illustrate the direction of a Democratic Party struggling to find its bearings. Stevens, a member of Congress, has the foundation’s support In her jurisdiction and In Washington. McMorrow and the third candidate, doctor Abdel Sayed, are running as outside candidates. McMorrow’s focus on alternative career paths and craftsmanship contrasts with the sensibilities of Stevens, who launched her campaign recalling her first car, a used Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme — “a piece of Michigan… the Michigan that helped build this country.”
Asked about McMorrow’s focus on non-traditional apprenticeships, including beekeeping, Stevens said now was the time to “double down” on manufacturing.
“There have always been people, critics and speculators who have questioned manufacturing in Michigan, and that’s not me, and that’s not the people of Michigan,” Stevens, 42, said. “I will just say that we are having a very difficult time right now with the current administration and their tariffs, and our manufacturing sector deserves support.”
McMorrow rejected the idea that she was disparaging manufacturing. She said she favors a “all-of-the-above solution” and is optimistic about the future of the auto industry. “I think this approach has hurt us,” she added in response to Stevens’ comments.
However, McMorrow’s focus on beekeeping and other specialized apprenticeships stands out as a staple of her speeches and a topic she raises unprompted in interviews. She even admits that her evangelism has echoes of “Learn to Code” — the 2000s slogan that was supposed to encourage switching to high-tech jobs, but turned into condescending applause.
“At some point, it was ‘learn to code,’ or ‘focus on video,’ and this was the weird trick that would fix the problem,” McMorrow said. “And what I’m trying to say in the room is that there’s not one weird con, which is that we don’t know how technology is going to change our economy and change our workforce. … So, yeah, there’s a little bit of a response to ‘learn to code,’ but what I’m saying is learn how to find what’s next for you.”
The number of active registered apprentices in Michigan jumped 12% last year, according to a State report. But nearly 60% of those apprenticeships were concentrated in five job categories: electricians, construction workers, carpenters, millwrights, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters. While there has been a slight rise in non-traditional apprenticeships, it has largely been so In areas such as healthcare and public administration.
The report did not include any mention of winemaking, beer brewing, or beekeeping.
Al-Sayed, 40, agrees that such “artisanal” apprenticeships provide valuable career paths to Michigan’s economy, especially cheesemaking, leatherworking and tailoring. He believes more efforts should be made to ensure these jobs have higher wages, benefits and better stability.
“It’s one thing to talk about apprenticeships,” said El-Sayed, who lost a gubernatorial primary in 2018. “But it’s another thing to talk about structures that enable a sustainable economy in those areas, and I think that comes with empowering small businesses and empowering unions, and that’s why I’m so focused on those two pieces.”
Others, like Stevens, are less enamored with McMorrow’s approach.
Republicans who support former Rep. Mike Rogers in the Senate will almost certainly highlight McMorrow’s position Focus on such functions if they are He is the Democratic nominee, said Greg Manz, a strategist for the Michigan Republican Party.
“Michigan built the American middle class through manufacturing, and Republican leaders in the Great Lakes State are focused on reviving that strength — not replacing it with petty hobbies,” Manns said.
“Family-sustaining industrial jobs are being given up, and Mike Rogers is fighting to bring them back,” Manns added, reviewing the offensive line.
Adrian Hemond, a Democratic consultant in Michigan, said he was not affiliated with either candidate but did He spoke favorably of Stevensalso criticized McMorrow’s approach, saying it was geared more toward “college-educated white women” than blue-collar workers. He called her an “absolute, terrible loser” in the general election.
“Talk about beekeeping and winemaking — like that’s something that’s very clearly pitched to wealthy Democratic donors, right?” Hemond added. “This has no appeal to the broader electorate, like zero. There are probably a few dozen people in Michigan who think they might work in beekeeping or winemaking. This is just a no-no for an important, but relatively small, segment of the electorate.”
Michigan is home to more than 600,000 manufacturing workers, according to A.J Latest state estimates. And a December 2024 report MichAuto, an industry advocacy group, counted 288,000 jobs directly linked to the automotive sector, with more than 1.2 million jobs directly or indirectly linked to the broader mobility industry, which includes the auto industry.
Determining the number of beekeeping jobs is a more difficult task. In a Interview 2022 With WCMU Public Media, an expert in the field from Michigan State University estimated the number of commercial bee farms in the hundreds.
Officials with the Michigan Beekeepers Association — a group with 800 members, most of whom are hobbyists — said they were happy to learn about the apprenticeships McMorrow is championing, even though they were unaware of them until NBC News reached out to them.
The state has 82,000 honey-producing colonies in 2024 and about $15 million in sales from honey production, said Candace Casados, president of the association. She believes that apprenticeships can help the industry grow.
“Beekeeping is a largely experimental field,” Casados said. “Professional training allows mentors to pass on their knowledge in things like disease detection, hive management, seasonal rotations, and forage planning. There is a lot to learn as a new beekeeper, and getting that hands-on experience, knowledge and mentoring under someone’s supervision is key.”
As of late September, there were only two registered beekeeping apprentices in Michigan, where the average hourly wage is $15.50. According to the US Department of Labor. The state also reported two winemaking apprentices, with an average wage of $18.50, and a craft brewer apprentice, with an average wage of $17.
“I cite beekeeping as an example, mostly because it’s unexpected, it surprises people, and it catches people’s attention,” McMorrow said when asked about its small footprint compared to Michigan’s powerful industries.
McMorrow, who has held campaign events at craft breweries across the state, said she has met brewers and others who, concerned about the rise of artificial intelligence and the turning economic tide, have left behind jobs in the finance, technology and auto sectors. She added that those conversations reinforced her belief that a broader menu of vocational training was wise.
“We don’t know what’s coming yet,” McMorrow said. “We don’t know how this technology is going to change our workforce. We’re going to be smarter and more prepared as a country. If you’re able to pivot and get into another field, [you] You may not be susceptible to changes with AI, and you know that if you need to change again in another 10 years, you can do so.
For her part, Stevens did not explicitly criticize McMorrow by name but drew unambiguous contrasts, emphasizing her belief in industrialization as past, present and future.
“We will not give up on manufacturing,” Stevens said. “And we of course need a senator who wants to support that.”
“It is our skilled workforce that will move us forward,” Stevens He added. “And so when you talk about the new technologies that over the last 50 years have made people question the ingenuity of our industrial base and our manufacturing sector, it’s going to be our skilled workforce here in Michigan that’s connected to manufacturing that will win the day.”
McMorrow called such thinking short-sighted.
“I think what we have failed at as a country is putting all of our eggs in one basket instead of recognizing that we can do all of the above,” McMorrow said.