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A 36-year-old Warren man running for a state House seat is happy to share a name with a former Detroit Lions quarterback.
In fact, the Republican candidate hopes it gives him a bit of a boost in the Democratic-leaning 11th House District that straddles Macomb and Wayne counties.
"That's been a huge attention grabber," Matthew Stafford, the state House candidate, said of sharing a name with the famous athlete who now plays for the Los Angeles Rams.
"I'm getting a lot of talk and a lot of attention from that." The first-time candidate is running in a three-way Republican primary in the 11th House District, a Detroit-area seat that is up for grabs as incumbent state Rep.
Donovan McKinney seeks to unseat U.S.
Rep.
Shri Thanedar in the 13th Congressional District.
Stafford, a veteran of the U.S.
Marine Corps, said he runs a nonprofit, RumBai Family Services, that seeks to help struggling families with food, housing assistance, and job training.
His aim in pursuing the state House seat, he said, is to better serve the community.
"One day I'm sitting there and thinking, 'What would be a better way to serve my community?'" Stafford said.
"I landed on running for state representative." Also running in the Republican primary for the 11th House District are Eddie Kabacinski of Warren and Dale J.
Walker of Warren, who lost to McKinney last cycle.
On the Democratic side, candidates Cranstana Brown Anderson of Detroit, Kimberly Fisher of Detroit and Michael Howard of Warren are running.
McKinney, who has endorsed Fisher to succeed him, said the general election for Stafford, if he makes it past the primary, will be an "uphill battle." McKinney won his 2024 race against Walker 82% to 18%.
The 11th House District, McKinney noted, includes the "Kelly and Matthew Stafford & Friends Education Center" at the SAY Detroit Play Center at Lipke Park, thanks to financial support provided by the NFL player.
But McKinney noted most voters in the district are Democrats, and most vote a straight ticket.
"I tell any candidate, I don't care who they are, go knock the doors, meet the people," McKinney said.
"The district I currently represent is one of the poorest, if not the poorest, in the state.
...What people care about more than anything is the affordability crisis." The district includes portions of northeast Detroit including a trailer park and home where Eminem spent some of his childhood, McKinney noted and, across 8 Mile, a southern portion of Warren.
Stafford isn't the first Republican candidate with a notable name to file to run in a Democratic district.
In 2024, Tom Izzo, a Republican from Lansing who doesn't coach the Michigan State University men's basketball team, lost his challenge to incumbent state Rep.
Kara Hope, a Democrat from Holt.
Hope won 64% of the vote while Izzo took 36% in a Lansing-based district that borders the East Lansing campus of MSU.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Meet the Matthew Stafford running for the Michigan House.