Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan and the state's Senate majority whip, is facing criticism after an investigation by CNN's K-File unit found she deleted approximately 6,000 social media posts that included disparaging remarks about Middle America.
The archived posts, which appear to have been deleted in 2025 following reporting by the New York Post, include McMorrow writing about dreaming that elite coasts would annex themselves from "fly-over country." She also wrote that she wished she 'never left California' and said there were days since moving to Michigan 'that make me miss California even more.'
What the Right Is Saying
The research arm of the Republican National Committee posted on X: 'How can McMorrow represent the people that she hates?'
Chris Gustafson, a spokesperson for the Senate Leadership Fund and One Nation, posted: 'The death of a campaign, brought to you by, the campaign.'
Conservative radio host Andrew Wilkow commented: 'As I've told you, the elites hate your guts if you are culturally in the space between West of the George Washington Bridge and East of the Golden Gate Bridge.'
Parker Thayer, an investigative researcher at the Capital Research Center, posted: 'Coastal libs like Buttigieg and McMorrow have realized how beautiful it is here, and they've decided they can tolerate our backwards midwestern ways if they balkanize the state.'
What the Left Is Saying
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., who is also running for the Michigan Senate seat, posted a lengthy thread on X responding to McMorrow's deleted posts. 'I'm a born and raised Michigander and damn proud of it,' Stevens wrote. 'So what actually ticks me off... someone who wants that job—representing Michiganders—talking crap about us and our state.'
A spokesperson for McMorrow's campaign, Hannah Lindow, defended the posts as light-hearted commentary. 'These are normal tweets by a normal person,' Lindow told Fox News Digital. 'Normal people complain about the weather. The Michigan sky does in fact sometimes s--- ice. She stands by that.'
Lindow also pointed to a Democratic strategist who argued 'every adult decision Mallory has made' indicates she loves Michigan. 'As Michigan's Senate Majority Whip, Mallory has spent the past eight years fighting and delivering to make people's lives better: higher wages, universal pre-K, no kid going hungry in schools, comprehensive gun violence prevention laws, and more,' Lindow said.
What the Numbers Show
According to CNN's K-File investigation, McMorrow deleted approximately 6,000 social media posts. The archived content includes posts from multiple years, with some dating back to her time in California.
In one archived post from 2016, after she claimed to have relocated to Michigan, McMorrow described herself as a constituent of Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California and referenced voting in California's June 2016 Democratic Primary. She also mentioned voting in person in November 2014 in the Los Angeles area.
McMorrow indicated in her 2025 autobiography that she 'relocated permanently' from the Los Angeles-area to Michigan in 2014.
The Bottom Line
The controversy comes as McMorrow faces a competitive primary for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat, with Stevens and other candidates vying for the nomination. The deleted posts could complicate McMorrow's efforts to appeal to Michigan voters, particularly in communities outside urban areas.
McMorrow's campaign has framed the criticism as overblown social media chatter, while her opponents have used the archived posts to question her commitment to representing the state. Political observers will watch whether this story affects primary polling numbers or shifts voter perceptions ahead of the nomination contest.