Paul Junge, a former prosecutor and local news anchor, won the GOP nomination to take on Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, setting up an expensive showdown in a must-win race for Republicans as they seek to retake a majority in the House of Representatives.
With 33% of ballots counted, the ex-Fox 47 Lansing broadcaster had 56% of the vote to his nearest rival’s 23% when the race was called by ABC News.
Junge, who challenged Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) in a neighboring district in 2020 but lost by less than 4 points, defeated rivals Candice Miller and Matthew Seely to secure the GOP nod in the newly redrawn 8th District. The seat, which was drawn to encompass more Republican-leaning areas during the decennial redistricting process, covers much of the land surrounding Saginaw Bay and includes the city of Flint.
Succeeding his uncle, 18-term Rep. Dale Kildee, in 2012, Kildee has not faced a truly competitive race over the course of his decadelong congressional career. However, as Republicans look ahead to a favorable political environment in the midterm elections, party leaders see Kildee as particularly vulnerable in a district that President Joe Biden carried by just 2.1 points in 2020. Election forecasters from the Cook Political Report, Fox News, RealClearPolitics, Politico, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball all rate the 8th District a “toss-up” race, meaning both parties have relatively equal chances of prevailing in the general election.
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Michigan is set to be a critical battleground in both parties’ efforts to win control of the House this fall. Along with Kildee’s seat, Republicans are targeting Democratic seats, including the Lansing-anchored 7th District, represented by Slotkin, and the suburban Detroit 10th District, an open seat that was made significantly more GOP friendly during redistricting. Democrats have their eyes on the Grand Rapids-centered 3rd District in the western part of the state, which was won by Biden in 2020 and is currently held by centrist Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI).
Meijer, who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, was locked in a tight race with a Trump-endorsed primary challenger on Tuesday.
