Current:Home > MyCentral Michigan voters are deciding 2 open congressional seats in the fight for the US House -ValueMetric
Central Michigan voters are deciding 2 open congressional seats in the fight for the US House
View
Date:2025-04-17 06:33:31
Follow live: Updates from AP’s coverage of the presidential election.
DETROIT (AP) — Between redistricting and incumbents forgoing reelection, four congressional seats in Michigan are key targets as the parties vie for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Republicans are seeking to flip two open congressional seats in central Michigan as the GOP tries to broaden its majority.
The two seats being vacated were redrawn in 2021, yielding Democratic victories in the midterm elections. Now this year’s races are true tossups and some of the most competitive in the country, with millions of dollars poured into the campaigns.
8th Congressional District
After longtime Democrat Dan Kildee announced he would not seek reelection in Michigan’s 8th District, Republicans saw the first opportunity in decades to flip the seat red. Kildee had served since 2012 when he succeeded his uncle Dale Kildee, who represented the area including the cities of Flint and Saginaw in Congress for 36 years.
For Republicans, former news anchor and Trump administration immigration official Paul Junge is making his third bid for Congress after losing to the younger Kildee in 2022 by about 10 points.
Junge appealed to voters over economic and immigration concerns. He also attacked Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet over national security and sought to tie her to a Chinese-based battery manufacturing company looking to build in Michigan that has been a target for Republicans.
McDonald Rivet, a freshman state senator, painted Junge as a Californian outsider and cast herself as a middle class pragmatist. She focused her messaging on preserving reproductive rights and like her opponent, the economy.
7th Congressional District
In the 7th district in central Michigan, former state lawmakers Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr. and Republican Tom Barrett have sought the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin.
Slotkin, the Democratic candidate for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, narrowly defeated Barrett in the 2022 midterms for the district that includes the state capital of Lansing and the surrounding rural areas.
Hertel, a former state senator and more recently the governor’s legislative director, was portrayed as a “regular guy” in an ad campaign where he grills, takes out the trash and prepares to mow a yard. He’s labeled Barrett an anti-abortion extremist, but in an attempt to reach GOP voters, he’s also criticized Democrats over immigration.
Barrett in turn has appealed to voters’ concerns over inflation and attacked Hertel over national security. A former state representative, senator and Army veteran, he has run ads featuring his helicopter pilot background.
3rd Congressional District
The open seats are the most contested in the state, but two other congressional seats have drawn the attention of national parties.
Hillary Scholten became the first Democrat to represent the city of Grand Rapids in the U.S. House since the 1970s when she won Michigan’s newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District in 2022. But the surrounding Kent County has plenty of Republican voters. The county went for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. The Republican ticket has targeted the county with five visits in 2024 between Vance and Trump.
Scholten faces Republican Paul Hudson, who lost a bid for the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022.
The 2024 election is here. This is what to know:
- Complete coverage: The latest Election Day updates from our reporters.
- Election results: Know the latest race calls from AP as votes are counted across the U.S.
- Voto a voto: Sigue la cobertura de AP en español de las elecciones en EEUU.
News outlets globally count on the AP for accurate U.S. election results. Since 1848, the AP has been calling races up and down the ballot. Support us. Donate to the AP.
10th Congressional District
Voters in Michigan’s 10th congressional district — which includes the all-important suburbs of Macomb County north of Detroit — will decide a rematch between Republican incumbent Rep. John James and Democrat Carl Marlinga.
Marlinga lost by just 1,600 votes in 2022, and the district is now seen as competitive, drawing money and attention from Democratic national groups.
veryGood! (21)
Related
- New Orleans mayor’s former bodyguard making first court appearance after July indictment
- A tale of two Great Falls: In the US, weather extremes rule
- Justin Timberlake: What's next after his DWI arrest. Will he continue his tour?
- Juneteenth also serves as a warning. Millions of Americans want to go backwards.
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, team work lead Celtics to 18th NBA championship
- Bronny James has only staged workouts for Lakers and Suns, per report
- A new 'Game of Thrones' prequel is coming: 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' cast, release
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Birmingham, former MLB players heartbroken over death of native son Willie Mays
Ranking
- 'Meet me at the gate': Watch as widow scatters husband's ashes, BASE jumps into canyon
- In ‘Janet Planet,’ playwright Annie Baker explores a new dramatic world
- A Missouri mayor says a fight over jobs is back on. Things to know about Kansas wooing the Chiefs
- On Juneteenth, monument dedicated in Alabama to those who endured slavery
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Why Pregnant Francesca Farago Recommends Having a Baby With a Trans Man
- Mets point to Grimace appearance as starting point for hot streak
- Matthew McConaughey Reveals Why He Quit Hollywood for 2 Years
Recommendation
Big Lots store closures could exceed 300 nationwide, discount chain reveals in filing
Massachusetts suffers statewide outage of its 911 services
Unloaded weapons don’t violate North Carolina safe gun storage law, appeals court says
NBA Draft is moving to two nights in 2024. Here's what to know about this year's edition.
Residents in Alaska capital clean up swamped homes after an ice dam burst and unleashed a flood
Man, 72, killed and woman hurt in knife attack at Nebraska highway rest area
A journalist traces his family tree back to ancestor who served in Black regiment in Civil War
Syracuse house collapse injures 13; investigation ongoing