MOUNT MORRIS, Mich. — Rep. Dan Kildee’s (D-Mich.) upcoming retirement has spurred a competitive contest to succeed the Democrat in a key battleground district. The race, which the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter says is a toss-up, has flown under the radar nationally.
We caught up with both Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet and Republican Paul Junge to hear their pitches to voters in the 8th District over the weekend. McDonald Rivet spoke to us after rallying canvassers in a union hall, while we talked to Junge following an event with Speaker Mike Johnson at an airport. Here’s what we learned.
The issues: Both candidates told us rising prices were a major concern for voters that they wanted to address.
Junge said there’s “a desire for change around the district” as a result of financial hardship coupled with “a lawless border.”
McDonald Rivet pointed to her experience as a state senator delivering “immediate tax breaks for seniors and people making less than 60 grand” as the solution to inflationary worries.
The presidential race: Junge recently spoke at a rally for former President Donald Trump and predicted that he’ll win Michigan.
“I want to thank Donald Trump and all of these national Republicans that are showing up here in Michigan’s Eighth District because they know this is a battleground district,” Junge said at a Freeland, Mich., rally on Saturday.
While Junge is showing zero daylight from the top of the ticket, McDonald Rivet offered some light criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
“There’s a lot of good news that I wish the top of the ticket would talk about more,” McDonald Rivet said, referencing jobs created in the district by the bipartisan infrastructure law and the CHIPS Act.
The attack ads: On the airwaves, Junge and the NRCC are accusing McDonald Rivet of supporting transgender athletes playing high school sports. As we’ve reported, this is a nationwide strategy by Republicans running in tough races across the country. Per Junge, the message resonates with parents, grandparents and younger voters.
But McDonald Rivet said the ads are “pretty despicable.”
“Those decisions are left to local school boards and it’s not an issue in Michigan,” McDonald Rivet said. “You got to ask yourself, why, when we are in a place where we have really high senior poverty levels and families can’t afford food, that that’s going to be the first ad out of the box from my opponent.”
For her part, McDonald Rivet slams Junge as “a guy who just showed up with his trust fund and is trying to ride a wave into office.”
“I have Michigan roots,” Junge told us in response. “People in this district, what they want to hear about is, ‘What are you going to do for us?’”
