Inside the pivotal Michigan race that could tip the balance of power in Washington

With U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint) announcing last year that he would not seek reelection in 2024, Michigan’s 8th Congressional District is at a critical juncture, as Democrats are seeking to retain control of the seat while Republicans look to flip a battleground district.

Control of the U.S. House also is on the line, with Republicans currently enjoying a slim majority.

In August, state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet secured the Democratic nomination amid a number of high-profile endorsements including Kildee, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) and Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor). Former President Donald Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Paul Junge is seeking another shot at the seat, after losing to Kildee by more than 10 points in 2022.

Michigan’s 8th Congressional District contains all of Saginaw and Bay counties, most of Genesee County and parts of Tuscola and Midland counties. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated the seat a “tossup.”

McDonald Rivet has focused her campaign on supporting Michigan children and families by creating economic opportunities and working to lower the cost of housing, childcare and prescription drugs.

Junge has stressed his experience working in small business, as well as his time as a criminal prosecutor and working in Trump’s administration as a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services appointee.

McDonald Rivet and Junge are set to debate at Saginaw Valley State University on Oct. 22 in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts.

In the lead up to the election, the Michigan Advance posed questions to each candidate on their campaign priorities and their plans if elected to Congress.

McDonald Rivet looks to ‘practical solutions’ to support the middle class

McDonald Rivet is currently serving her first term in the state Senate, after she was elected to a swing seat in 2022.

Prior to joining the Legislature, McDonald served as the chief of staff for the Michigan Department of Education, as well as high-level roles at multiple nonprofits including executive director of the Michigan Head Start Association, vice president of Michigan Future Inc. and president and CEO of Greater Midland Inc.

When interviewed by the Michigan Advance, McDonald Rivet said there needs to be efforts to incentivize and work to bring high-wage jobs into Michigan and the region. However, as lawmakers work to do that, she said Congress also needs to reinstate the expanded child tax credit authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act, in addition to making childcare subsidies more readily available for families, working to bring the costs down on housing and make dollars available for people to get into affordable housing.

In addressing drug costs, McDonald Rivet said the country has made a good start on capping insulin prices at $35, noting that other widely used drugs would benefit from the same treatment.

Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug costs is also important, she said, telling the Advance she would support expanding the list of drugs up for cost negotiations and the caps on those drug costs.

“I think the biggest thing that we can do is stop making this a place of political bickering when we know that people are really struggling to afford their prescription drugs,” McDonald Rivet said. “Everybody I know, either has a personal story or a story of someone close to them that’s had to forgo prescription drugs because they couldn’t afford it.”

When looking at taxes and the expiring components of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — passed under Trump, and often referred to as the Trump tax cuts — McDonald Rivet said the policy did very little to support the middle class while favoring the nation’s richest 1%. While she wouldn’t support abandoning all of the Trump tax cuts, lawmakers do need to make sure the middle class is benefitting from them, McDonald Rivet said.

“The way that we approach taxing, tax in general in this country has to be a reflection of our values. And you know, I really think that the idea that if you work really hard, you should be able to get to a middle class lifestyle,” McDonald Rivet said.

She noted her support in expanding Michigan’s earned income tax credit, explaining that the policy not only helps people on the lower end of the income scale, but that there is a work requirement for receiving it.

On her website, McDonald Rivet pledged to continue Kildee’s legacy of standing up for Michigan farmers, telling the Advance she would ensure there is a continuous open dialogue with Michigan farmers.

“When you sit and talk with farmers, one of the things that they will tell you is that the regulation has to keep pace with what’s happening, not just technology, but also climate change starts to affect their crops,” McDonald Rivet said.

Part of that relationship is being an advocate with federal agencies like the Department of Agriculture to make sure policies are working for Michigan farmers, part of it is trade policy and then other pieces include policies like the right to repair and tax incentives for new equipment McDonald Rivet said.

McDonald Rivet also listed safeguarding freedoms and improving democracy under her priorities, noting the threat that a national abortion ban could pose to Michigan’s state level protections for reproductive healthcare. She slammed Junge, saying he is “clearly anti-abortion care, anti-reproductive rights.”

“I think that that is out of pace with, you know, the way people in the district and across the state believe,” McDonald Rivet said.

Junge’s website states that “he believes in the culture of life and knows that a child is a precious gift from God.” During his 2022 campaign, Junge told the Detroit News he supported the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — the case protecting the constitutional protections for abortion care — but that he would not back a federal abortion ban.

When asked about his stance on a federal abortion ban, Junge told the Advance in an email, “I would never and have never supported a national abortion ban. I have been crystal clear on this issue,” accusing McDonald Rivet of fearmongering.

McDonald Rivet told the Advance the best way Congress could protect reproductive rights is by putting the protections of Roe v. Wade into law.

She also emphasized the importance of voting rights, touting efforts Michigan has made to its own voting law while noting her support for the John Lewis Advancement Act.

McDonald Rivet also emphasized that every child has a right to attend a very safe school, saying too many students do not.

She pointed to small class sizes, supporting our teachers through pay and ensuring they have the resources they need and making certain that all schools have access to programs like music and art and gym as vitally important and areas she supports.

She also pointed to efforts in Michigan, like providing funding for free school breakfast and lunches, school safety officers and mental health counselors and increasing funds for teacher salaries as policies that are key to helping schools, calling for universal preschool as another way to support children and education.

In addressing mass shootings and gun violence, McDonald Rivet previously told the Advance she would support policies universal background checks, and safe storage requirements in Congress.

On foreign policy, McDonald Rivet said the U.S. must stand strong with Ukraine in its war with Russia and stand up against Russian President Vladimir Putin. She also supports a ceasefire and aid for Gaza, but said the ceasefire conditions must include the return of Israeli and American hostages from Hamas.

She also previously told the Advance that the U.S. needs to modernize its immigration system to ensure the system works, supporting a stop to illegal crossings at the border and the creation of legal pathways for people seeking a life in the U.S.

Junge pledges to restore faith in the American Dream

In addition to serving in external affairs for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Junge has also worked as a news anchor for Lansing’s FOX-47 news, and the investigative counsel for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee under U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

He served as the deputy district attorney in Ventura County, Calif., telling MLive at the launch of his 2020 campaign against U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) in 2020 — which was ultimately unsuccessful — that he was raised in Michigan and California, and was later called back to Michigan to help at a family contracting business maintaining housing for military families.

While the Advance was unable to schedule an interview with Junge, he responded to a list of questions sent via email.

When asked how he would support jobs and the economy in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District and abroad, Junge said the U.S. needs to lower the tax burden for working families and seniors, and pointed to former President Donald Trump’s campaign proposals of no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security and extending the Trump tax cuts as “a great start.”

He also called for action on lowering inflation and the cost of energy and groceries, as well as addressing high childcare costs and encouraging small business investment.

“The last four years have been incredibly difficult on the lives of most Americans. Common sense actions like reining in government spending, tax cuts for working families and seniors, increasing healthcare competition, and lowering the cost of prescriptions would go a long way to easing the burden on the residents of the 8th District,” Junge said.

Similar to his opponent, Junge listed supporting Michigan farmers among his campaign priorities, listing favorable trade deals, fewer regulations and a tax policy that reduces the financial burden on farmers as the best avenues for Congress to provide support.

Junge said mass shootings are “a heartbreaking, too frequent occurrence in our country,” and called for a comprehensive approach in addressing the threat.

“I fully support increasing resources to address mental health, secure vulnerable locations such as schools and campuses, and properly enforce Constitutional laws to keep guns out of the hands of criminals,” Junge said.

While McDonald Rivet listed “safeguarding our freedoms and improving democracy” among her campaign priorities, Junge listed “defending our God-given rights” among his priorities. When asked about his concerns and how he would protect rights under attack in Congress, Junge argued that faith in the American dream and confidence that the next generation would have an equal if not better quality of life had been “massively shaken by inept politicians.”

“In Congress, I’ll fight to not only improve day-to-day life but lay the foundations of prosperity for our future,” Junge said.

Asked about the role the U.S. has in both Russia’s war on Ukraine and Israel’s war on Hamas, Junge said, “Weak leadership of the Biden-Harris administration has emboldened the enemies of peace and foments chaos around the world.”

“Returning Donald Trump to the White House will go a long way to restoring stability in global relations. We must stand with our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel, especially after the atrocities of October 7. We must prevent these conflicts from escalating to broader wars, and strong leadership facilitates peace,” Junge said.

Junge also criticized the President Joe Biden administration over its policies at the southern border, saying “The lack of a southern border under the Biden-Harris administration is appalling. It harms our economy, is a national security threat, and abets the drug and human trafficking cartels.”

“Just recently [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE] published a report regarding the amount of known criminals who crossed our border illegally — and most agree our government grossly underestimates the amount of illegals who are in our country,” Junge said, referencing data collected as part of a request from U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas).

According to the data, which the Department of Homeland Security said dates back four decades, there are 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide in the U.S. or abroad who are residing outside of ICE detention in the U.S.

Law enforcement officials told NBC News the immigrants on ICE’s “non-detained” docket are either not prioritized for detention, are serving prison or jail sentences, or ICE can’t locate them.

“We must first close the border; properly fund ICE and the various law enforcement agencies tasked with patrolling the border, as well as provide resources to track, arrest, and deport these known violent criminals who have come across,” Junge said.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and X.