Michigan Public Radio’s Steve Carmody wrote Kildee’s decision to retire “marked the end of decades of Kildee family control of the mid-Michigan congressional seat, and possibly along with it, a half century of Democratic control of the seat representing Flint.”
McDonald Rivet is a state senator who was first elected in 2022. In an interview with WCMU Public Radio, McDonald Rivet said her priorities are “lowering prescription drug costs, addressing the cost of housing, addressing the cost of childcare and also protecting our women’s abortion care rights and protecting our privacy and healthcare.” She says many of these priorities are the same as the ones she has in the state Senate, where she says she has a “reputation as someone who gets real, practical work done.” McDonald Rivet says that in Congress she is willing to “work with anyone who wants to work with me.
Junge is a former prosecutor and TV news anchor who worked in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Trump administration. He previously ran for Congress against Kildee in 2022, losing 53.1% to 42.8%, and against Elissa Slotkin (D) in a previous iteration of the 8th district in 2020, losing 50.9% to 47.3%. Junge is campaigning on improving the economy and says “stopping the rising cost of goods and improving the economy for working families is a top priority to my campaign.” Junge is also campaigning on reducing immigration and says he would work “to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and poisonous synthetic opioids across our southern border, which are devastating forgotten communities across our state and across our country.”
Bridge Michigan’s Simon Schuster wrote that the district had “grown more conservative since new district lines took effect in 2022, and it will be a tougher lift for Democrats without the benefit of incumbency.” Junge says that he thinks voters are “ready for a different voice representing them in Washington ― a conservative voice,” and that he is “very comfortable making the case that I’m going to make, [and] be a conservative voice.” Midland County Democratic Party chair Jennifer Austin believes the district is still winnable for Democrats because she says that Trump has motivated “some people who are more centrist to try to get a more reasonable candidate, a reasonable policy, a reasonable take at how we look at politics.”
According to the most recent fundraising data, McDonald Rivet raised $1.6 million and spent $881,546, and Junge raised $2.1 million and spent $1.9 million. To read more about campaign finance reports, click here.
All 435 U.S. House seats are up for election in 2024. Republicans have a 220 to 211 majority with four vacancies. As of June 2024, 45 members of the U.S. House had announced they were not running for re-election. To read more about the U.S. House elections taking place this year, click here.
This is one of 44 open races for the U.S. House in 2024 where an incumbent is not running for re-election. Across the country, 23 Democrats and 21 Republicans are not running for re-election. In 2022, 49 representatives did not seek re-election, including 31 Democrats and 18 Republicans.
Michigan’s 8th Congressional District is one of 37 congressional districts with a Democratic incumbent or an open seat that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is targeting in 2024. To read about NRCC targeting initiatives, click here. For a complete list of NRCC targeted districts, click here.
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