Michigan’s redistricting process put incumbent U.S. Representative Dan Kildee (D-MI-05) in a competitive new 8th Congressional District.
Prior to redistricting changing the numbers and lines, Kildee was running in the old 5th district, a district he has represented since 2013. Kildee is the chief deputy whip of the House Democrat Caucus.
Kildee is running for reelection in a lean Republican district that has been given a R+1 partisan rating by Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight. Prior to redistricting, Kildee’s district was already competitive in partisan makeup, with a D+1 rating. The Cook Political Report currently places the race for the seat in the tossup category.
FEC records show that Kildee has $1,744,516.21 cash on hand in his reelection coffers as of December 31, 2021.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) announced that it is targeting Kildee for defeat.
In a recent release, the NRCC said the end result of action urged in a statement made by the U.S. House Progressive Caucus, of which Kildee is a member and signed on to, would add to the fuel price crisis.
The caucus statement called on “President Joe Biden this week to use his executive power to declare climate change a national emergency and to ban fossil fuel drilling on public lands.”
NRCC Spokesman Mike Berg said, “It is insane that Dan Kildee wants gas prices to go even higher.”
As of March 2022, Kildee has functioned as a rubber-stamp for the Biden agenda, voting with the current administration’s position 100% of the time.
The 2020 Republican nominee for the previous version of the 8th district, Paul Junge, is running in the new MI-8 this year. Junge lost to Democrat incumbent U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-08) by 3.6% in 2020. Slotkin is running for reelection in the new MI-7.
Junge most recently served as an official in the Trump administration, working at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Junge’s website says he “worked in his family business that maintained housing for military families, created over 500 jobs, and supported working families. He knows firsthand how important small businesses are to employment and prosperity in our state. Additionally, Paul was a deputy district attorney who worked in the domestic violence unit to protect battered women and abused children.” Junge also worked as a Fox47 television news anchor.
Junge says he is running for the U.S. House “to defend the values that make America strong to help our families, promote freedom and opportunity, and secure our God-given rights spelled out in the Constitution.”
The filing deadline for candidates is April 19. The primaries are scheduled to take place on August 2.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Michigan Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
Photo “Paul Junge” by Paul Junge.
