Marlinga wins 10th District primary, will face Rep. John James a second time

U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, will face Democratic former Macomb County Judge Carl Marlinga in Michigan's 10th Congressional District, in a rematch of one of the tightest U.S. House races in the country two years ago.

The Associated Press called the Democratic primary around midnight on election night.

With about 98% of the vote having been tallied. Marlinga had 49% of the vote, compared with 25% for Warren financial planner Diane Young.

Two other Democrats who lived outside the district — which is not a bar to running in a congressional district as long as they are residents of the state — trailed the two leaders. State Board of Education member Tiffany Tilley, of West Bloomfield, had just over 13% of the vote. Emily Busch, an Oxford woman whose son was among those who took shelter during the deadly shooting at Oxford High School in November 2021, had just under13%.

Come back to freep.com for updated totals.

In a statement, Marlinga said he was "deeply honored by the trust and confidence the voters have placed in me."

"This victory belongs to all of us who believe in a future where every Michigander has the opportunity to thrive," he said. "Together, we will work tirelessly to address the issues that matter most to our community — restoring a woman’s right to choose and defending reproductive freedom, protecting Lake St. Clair and the Great Lakes from oil drillers and rebuilding America so you can work one job and pay the bills. Our campaign is about bringing people together and finding common-sense solutions to the problems we face."

Both sides began attacking each other almost immediately.

Mike Marinella, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, called Marlinga "creepy," and signaled it will again try to target his past as a private attorney and some of the clients his firm represented, despite being a prosecutor and judge. U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Washington State and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said James was "extreme" and voted to restrict abortion access nationwide.

James, who is serving in his first term in the U.S. House after losing two successful races for U.S. Senate in 2018 and 2020, was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Based mostly in southern Macomb County and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County, the district is seen as a Republican-leaning tossup but one Democrats have good reason for thinking they could flip: Two years ago, James beat Marlinga by about half a percentage point , a razor-thin margin considering how badly James and the Republicans outspent Marlinga, who got little outside help from his party.

Marlinga represents an older generation of Democratic officials in Macomb County but is seen widely as a moderate and his name is well known as a former judge and longtime county prosecutor. James, meanwhile, lived outside the district before winning it in 2022.

After the polls closed Tuesday night, James, issued a statement expressing his gratitude for being re-nominated.

"Countless neighbors have dedicated thousands of hours collectively knocking doors, writing postcards and telling voters about our campaign to lower inflation, secure our borders and strengthen our economy," he said. "We’re energized to win this general election in November, help elect Republicans up and down the ballot and continue delivering for southeast Michigan.”

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Marlinga wins 10th District primary, will face Rep. John James a second time