Endorsement: Carl Marlinga can unseat incumbent John James in U.S. House race

Michigan’s 10th Congressional District has an incumbent in first-term U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township. But make no mistake — the race for this seat is among the most competitive in the state.

James is facing a tough general election opponent in Democrat Carl Marlinga of Sterling Heights, the widely respected retired judge who served as Macomb County prosecutor for 20 years.

Marlinga lost to James in 2022 by just 1,600 votes — half a percentage point — at least in part because the national Democratic Party mistakenly concluded that this race was a lock for the GOP, and opted to spend its dollars elsewhere.

This year, Marlinga is back for a rematch, and Democrats are hoping for a pick-up in the district they wrote off just two years ago. Republicans are desperate to hold onto the seat, and their slender majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Voters in the 10th District — most of Macomb County, plus Oakland County’s Rochester and Rochester Hills — will be better served by the thoughtful diligence of CARL MARLINGA than the bombast of John James.

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Clear-eyed and capable

In an endorsement interview early in this election cycle, Marlinga’s thorough knowledge of his district and its residents’ needs set the bar for candidate interviews.

His candidacy isn’t motivated by a desire for celebrity, or as a springboard to higher office, but because he believes in the hard, patient work of democracy.

From the environment, the particular importance of lakes and the outdoors to Macomb County residents — every child, he said, should be able to swim at Metro Beach — to women’s and LGBTQ+ rights and the war in Gaza, Marlinga is strikingly clear-eyed, thoughtful and pragmatic, with compassionate and realistic policy proposals to offer.

Among his priorities: Universal day care, clean drinking water, subsidized home repair loans — “A neighborhood gets better one home at a time” — and the need to strengthen America’s manufacturing sector. He’s forged relationships with other lawmakers at every level of government who share his approach to office.

The choice between the environment and the economy is false, Marlinga says. When the U.S. slow-walks meaningful work on climate change, it is missing out on economic opportunities.

“Some nation is going to get filthy rich to be the first to start producing and marketing” equipment required for renewable energy, or energy-efficient technology, he told the editorial board. "We should be making heat pumps for Europe like Michigan made cars in the ‘40s.”

Marlinga left a comfortable position as a circuit judge to run for this seat in 2022 because he believes our system of government is in peril.

The events of Jan. 6 — not just the riot at our nation’s Capitol, but the certification of the presidential election after — underscored for Marlinga that a handful of votes can uphold or gut American democracy.

Marlinga says he’ll stand against a slide into chaos, and as a bulwark for the rule of law.

Voters who aren’t familiar with Marlinga or his record may view his age, 77, as cause for concern, particularly in an election cycle influenced by voter trepidation about older candidates. But he approaches elected office with vigor and curiosity, tempered by the wisdom and pragmatism of his decades in public service.

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The elusive John James

The case against James could be summed up by two words: Abortion and election.

James, 43, flew Apache helicopters in combat in Iraq before leaving the military to join the family logistics business. He unsuccessfully challenged Democratic incumbent U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

James questioned results in his 2020 loss to U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, refusing to concede for three weeks as he questioned supposed “irregularities” in Wayne County — a refrain borrowed from Donald Trump’s quest to overturn the presidential election. All claims of voting malfeasance have been thoroughly debunked.

We couldn’t ask James if he’d support the outcome of the 2024 election, because his campaign did not respond to multiple emails over several months seeking to schedule an endorsement interview.

James also supported the overturn of Roe v. Wade, once compared abortion to genocide, and in 2018 said he opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest. Macomb County voters supported Proposal 3, the amendment that enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution, by close to a two-thirds margin, like the rest of the state, putting James out of step with the constituents he intends to serve.

In endorsement interviews in 2018, 2020 and 2022, we were unable to identify any issue or cause for which James would make a credible champion. He spoke in political platitudes, claiming in 2018, for example, that he would back a “market-based” replacement of the Affordable Care Act, but could not offer any specifics as to what that might mean.

In the two years James has held the seat, he has failed to distinguish himself, seeming to prefer the spotlight to the work of policymaking. He is better known for an ethics investigation and histrionic ads demonizing transgender kids than for any tangible benefit to Macomb County voters, and we're no better able to discern what James stands for than we were in 2018.

An opportunity

Macomb County residents may be stalwart Trump supporters, but they’ve also twice voted for Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Longtime County Executive Mark Hackel is a Democrat. So is Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham.

So was Macomb County Prosecutor Carl Marlinga, who served in that role from 1985-2004.

Macomb County voters already know Marlinga is a devoted public servant. Two years after choosing James, with little to show for it, they have a chance to change their minds.

How to vote

Local clerks mailed absentee ballots to Michigan voters on Sept. 26. Registered voters may cast ballots early, in person, from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3. In some communities, early voting begins even sooner. Check with your local clerk for early voting dates and the location of early voting sites and ballot dropboxes. And, of course, you can vote — and register to vote — in person on Election Day, Nov. 5. Check your voter registration or find your polling place on the Michigan Secretary of State website.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Endorsement: In 10th U.S. House District, Freep endorses Carl Marlinga