- Rep. Dan Kildee is running against Republican Paul Junge in Michigan's 8th Congressional District.
- The 8th District is centered around the city of Flint, Michigan.
Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee faces off against Republican Paul Junge in Michigan's 8th Congressional District.
Michigan's 8th Congressional District candidates
Kildee was elected the representative for Michigan's 5th Congressional District pre-redistricting, succeeding his uncle Dale Kildee, who occupied the seat from 1977 to 2013.
Born and raised in Flint, he's represented the city since 2013. The 64-year-old congressman has advocated for working families and small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, is a proponent of lowering the cost of healthcare premiums and prescription drugs, and serves on multiple House committees, including the Ways and Means Committee.
Junge, a former criminal prosecutor and television anchor with a local Fox television station in Lansing, ran and lost against Rep. Elissa Slotkin in 2020.
He is also a former immigration official in the Trump administration, and at the time of his election against Slotkin, he was endorsed by the former president on Twitter. Some past gigs include working in his family business that maintains housing for military families and serving as investigative counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"He helped Secure our Border in my Administration, and he will help us Lower your Taxes, Create Jobs, and put America First in Congress," Trump tweeted.
Abortion is likely to be a key issue in the race between Kildee and Junge. While Kildee called the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade as "one of the most reprehensible Supreme Court decisions in our country's history," Junge said decisions on regulating abortion should be handled at the state level.
Voting history for Michigan's 8th Congressional District
Michigan's 8th Congressional District is centered around the city of Flint.
President Joe Biden had a 4 percentage point margin of victory under the district's previous boundaries in 2020 before it was redrawn to include portions of solidly Republican Midland County in redistricting following the 2020 Census, giving Republicans a slight edge.
The money race
According to OpenSecrets, Kildee has raised $5.1 million, spent $5 million, and has $895,910 of cash on hand, as of October 19. His opponent, Junge, has raised $3 million, spent $2.5 million, and has $489,146 of cash still left to spend, as of October 19.
Super PACs, national party committees, and other non-candidate groups have together spent nearly $9 million through early November to advocate for or against the two candidates.
What experts say
The race between Kildee and Junge is rated as "lean Democratic" by Inside Elections, "lean Democratic" by The Cook Political Report, and a "toss-up" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.