“McDonald Rivet wins key U.S. House race in Mid-Michigan”.

by Junna Base November 9, 2024

Democratic Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet triumphed Wednesday over Republican Paul Junge in the open U.S. House seat representing the Tri-Cities region in central Michigan.

McDonald Rivet had 51% of the vote and Junge had 45% with 99% of the votes counted. Kathy Goodwin of the Working Class Party came in at 2% and Steve Barcelo at 1%.

Around 3:20 a.m. Wednesday, McDonald Rivet of Bay City declared victory, saying she won with a “broad and energetic coalition.”

Junge congratulated his opponent in a statement on Wednesday morning.

“Although we unfortunately came up short in the election, I was proud of the campaign we ran that highlighted the concerns of working families that I have heard so often – out-of-control costs that are threatening the American dream making many more and more inaccessible and securing our security. “Southern border and then need for sensible solutions in Washington,” said Junge. “I want to congratulate Senator Rivet and wish her the best of luck.”

McDonald Rivet will fill the seat held by retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township. Grand Blanc Township boy lost to Kildee by more than 10 percentage points in 2022.

The closely watched contest, largely centered around the economy and jobs, could help determine the House majority next year and is considered a misstep by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. The 8th District includes Genesee, Saginaw and Bay counties, as well as parts of Midland County.

McDonald Rivet, 54, described the choice between her and Junge as “strong.” The first-term state senator and former Bay City commissioner said she raised six children, managed a family budget and dealt with high food costs while Junge “relied on his trust fund.”

“I have spent my life doing great things that have helped our community, our schools and the economic stability of families,” she told The Detroit News this fall. “He jumped from district to district trying to get a seat in Congress.”

The 58-year-old boy, a former television host and trained lawyer, presented himself as a candidate of change – a former prosecutor and political outsider who will take on the Washington elites who have been “selling us out” for 60 years – an obvious reference to that The Kildee family, which has held the seat in the Flint area for decades. He tried to tie McDonald Rivet to Biden-Harris’ record on the southern border and the economy.

“Voters feel like the economy isn’t working for them. People still feel like they don’t have the ability to pay for the things they need to pay for, and whatever the crime statistics may be, people are a little unsure about safety.” in their community,” Junge told The Detroit News last week.

“They just don’t feel like things are as good now as they remembered they were three or four years ago. I want to point out that Democrats have had control of Lansing for over two years and that has been the case. “So if you are in control in Washington, if you want something different, I am that candidate.”

Both parties had their sights set on the district. Top officials visited in recent weeks, including House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, as well as House Democratic leader Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio , and the North Carolina Representative. Richard Hudson, who heads the Republican campaign branch in the House of Representatives.

President Joe Biden would have won the 8th District by 2 percentage points over former President Donald Trump in 2020 under the district’s new boundaries. However, the district appears to be leaning Republican as Trump improved his performance there from 2016 to 2020, experts noted.

Libertarian Steve Barcelo of Fenton, U.S. Taxpayer candidate James Allen Little of Flint, Green Party candidate Jim Casha of Ontario and Working Class Party representative Kathy Goodwin of Dearborn were also on the ballot.

Kanvana Caudle, a 53-year-old phlebotomist from Flint, said she voted for McDonald Rivet.

“She’s the one with the six kids, right? She just seems so down to earth,” Caudle said. “I would meet her at the bar. … I would drink beer with her, and I don’t even drink beer.”

Caudle didn’t like what she heard about Junge’s statement that he would go along with anything former President Donald Trump wanted.

Laurie Maccready, 59, of Flint, said she is supporting Junge as part of her direct Republican nomination. She runs her own business, selling food in bulk to federal prisons and food banks.

“I am a straight Republican conservative and President Trump supports Paul Junge, so I support Paul Junge,” Maccready said. “I support anyone who supports President Trump. I am a Trumper. I want my America back.”

Maccready said she believes Junge will focus on bringing jobs back to Michigan.

“The ads they’re running about him, that he’s from California, that he’s a trust fund baby – I hate that kind of shit,” Maccready said.

“You know what? Stick to your facts. Stick to what you are going to do. He didn’t actually say any insults. He wants to bring back jobs and reduce inflation. You have to impose tariffs on these companies.”

Velda Hellan, 60, of Flint wanted to vote for McDonald Rivet and said she likes what she sees in their commercials, including their support for abortion rights.

“In the ’80s, I came here with damn hangers to say, ‘Don’t let this happen again,'” Hellan said.

She also said she didn’t like that Junge spent so much time out of state, saying he wasn’t from Michigan. “I was born and raised here,” Hellan said.

Connie Edwards, a retired sixth-grade teacher, voted for McDonald Rivet in part because she was supported by the state’s police union and Kildee, whose family has represented the area in Congress for decades.

“That made a big difference,” Edwards said. “I’ll keep an eye on Rivet.”

Candidate stories

Junge has not held elected office before but is making his third run for Congress after unsuccessfully challenging U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin in 2020 and 2022. He is supported by Trump.

His priorities in Congress would be securing the southern border and removing regulatory hurdles for oil pipelines. He supports Trump’s plan to mass deport undocumented immigrants, but said the focus of deportation should be on people who have committed crimes or have a history of violence.

Junge defended his campaign self-funding of nearly $5 million so far this cycle at a recent forum, saying it means there are “no secrets” or hidden dark money donors.

“There’s no question, ‘Who will he be beholden to?’ “I will only be beholden to the voters of Michigan’s 8th District,” Junge said.

McDonald Rivet said Junge has all the money to spend because he inherited it and therefore hasn’t had to work for the past five years, as he previously told The Detroit News. Junge is a former Trump administration official.

If elected, McDonald Rivet would be the first woman to represent Flint and the Tri-Cities in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has presented herself as a pragmatic leader who can work with Republican lawmakers to get “real” work done without drama.

She introduced a bill that would increase the state earned income tax credit for the working poor from 6% to 30% of the federal credit. She also passed a firearms storage law and introduced a legislative package aimed at making child care more affordable.

McDonald Rivet has a background in education policy, previously serving as executive director of the Michigan Head Start Association and as education adviser to former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Her priorities in Congress included restoring the expanded child tax credit that helped reduce child poverty during the pandemic, codifying abortion rights at the federal level and tackling prescription drug costs – she wrote a bill to cap drug prices in the House.

Junge sharply criticized her 2023 committee vote for $175 million in tax incentives for the controversial battery parts factory that China-linked Gotion Inc. is seeking in the Big Rapids area.

McDonald Rivet defended the vote, accusing Republicans of repeatedly targeting the project and using “scaremongering.”

“This investment represented a $1.4 billion investment in an area of this state that desperately needs jobs. What I can tell you is that there has been a lot of political drama around this, and I will never put politics above people’s jobs,” she said at the forum last month.

Junge has rejected Democratic claims that he would support cuts to Social Security, tax breaks for companies that move jobs to China and a nationwide ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape and incest.

“All three of these allegations are completely false and have no basis in evidence or fact,” Junge said.

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