Voter guide: US House races

(This story was updated to correct a misspelling.)

The following are brief biographies of each major party candidate pulled from their official websites, our previous reporting, campaign websites and campaign social media pages. Candidates without that information were contacted, and in some cases did not respond. If the candidate has a campaign website, we've linked to that under "Read more here." This guide does not include third-party candidates or candidates in noncompetitive races. For a full listing of all candidates, including from third parties, see here.

1st Congressional District

Callie Barr, Democrat

Barr, a native Michigander, is a lawyer who came to public service after caring for her husband, an Iraq War veteran, and began working to help other military families. She lives in Traverse City and works to connect veterans with free legal services. She is campaigning to bring more and better jobs to northern Michigan, make rural broadband more accessible and enact background checks and safe storage laws while supporting the right to gun ownership. Read more here.

Jack Bergman, Republican

Bergman, who was born in Minnesota but lived around the country before moving to Watersmeet on the western U.P., shocked Michigan politics eight years ago by winning the Republican nomination to the 1st District seat as then-U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek was stepping down. A Marine and commercial airline pilot who rose to the rank of lieutenant general, Bergman is a staunch conservative supporting lower taxes and regulatory reform who serves on the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees and makes veterans issues a priority. He also voted against certifying the results of the 2020 election for President Joe Biden. Read more here.

2nd Congressional District

Michael Lynch, Democrat

Lynch, of Alma, in Gratiot County, is a marketing director with the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan who says he has been a lifelong advocate for working-class families, supporting labor unions, abortion rights and responsible gun legislation. He is calling for more affordable housing to be made available, rural broadband and help for farmers. Read more here.

John Moolenaar, Republican

Moolenaar, who now lives in Caledonia, outside Grand Rapids, is a former Dow Chemical chemist from Midland who was first elected to the U.S. House in 2015. A reliable vote for the Republican majority, Moolenaar is a staunch defender of the right to own firearms, supports voter ID restrictions and has pushed to crack down on unfair trade practices that have hurt Michigan farmers. A member of the powerful Appropriations Committee, he also is chairman of a panel investigating Chinese threats to American businesses and markets. Read more here.

3rd Congressional District

Hillary Scholten, Democrat

Scholten became the first Democrat in decades to represent Grand Rapids in Congress after she defeated Republican John Gibbs in the 2022 election. She also ran in the old 3rd Congressional District in 2020, when she lost to former Rep. Peter Meijer. In her first term, Scholten has introduced legislation cracking down on child labor exploitation. She also is an advocate for protecting access to abortion. Before running, Scholten worked as an immigration attorney and worked on immigration issues for the U.S. Department of Justice. Read more here.

Paul Hudson, Republican

Hudson is an attorney and leads the appellate division at the Miller Canfield law firm. He also ran for Michigan Supreme Court in 2022. On his campaign website, Hudson says irresponsible government spending has sparked inflation throughout the country and says reining in spending and lowering taxes will lead to more prosperity. He also lists securing the border and protecting national security as priorities. Read more here.

4th Congressional District

Bill Huizenga, Republican

Huizenga, who lives in Holland Township, won a seat in the U.S. House in 2010 and has risen through the ranks on the Financial Services Committee, which oversees the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve and more. He has become an outspoken voice on the need to reduce the nation’s debt and a strong proponent of protecting the Great Lakes. He is also staunchly conservative, an opponent of abortion rights and a supporter of regulatory restraint and lower taxes. Read more here.

Jessica Swartz, Democrat

Swartz, a Kalamazoo lawyer, is making her first run for Congress, having worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs and as deputy general counsel at Western Michigan University. Swartz says she is running to defend Medicare and Social Security from any threat of cuts, make health care more affordable and increase taxes on wealthier Americans and corporations. Read more here.

5th Congressional District

Libbi Urban, Democrat

A retired steelworker from Buchanan in southwest Michigan, Urban is making her first run for public office and touting her experience as a union vice president and labor negotiator. She opposes any governmental interference in reproductive and health care decisions, supports programs that would make it easier for family-owned farms to pass from generation to generation and higher taxes on wealthier Americans. She also supports universal background checks but believes laws should respect Second Amendment gun ownership rights. Read more here.

Tim Walberg, Republican

A former pastor, Walberg is Michigan’s current longest-serving member of the U.S. House, having been elected in 2006 to a two-year term, losing in 2008 to former U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, and then reclaiming the seat from 2010 on. He is a strict conservative and serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee. He has been a strong opponent of abortion rights and was among those voting against Congress certifying the result of the 2020 election for President Joe Biden. He also has called for lowering prescription costs and reducing government spending. This year, he took sharp criticism from some for a remark at a town hall meeting where he suggested treating Gaza like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two Japanese cities bombed during World War II, in order to end the Israel-Hamas conflict quickly. Read more here.

6th Congressional District

Debbie Dingell, Democrat

The widow of the late U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, the longest-serving member of Congress in history, Debbie Dingell was elected to her husband’s seat in 2014 and has become one of the state’s most notable members of Congress in her own right. A close friend of President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, she is a key figure in Democratic Party politics and serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee, remaining a staunch ally of Michigan’s automakers and the UAW. A reliable Democratic vote, she has called for stronger measures to control gun violence, protect abortion rights, reduce health care costs and fight pollution and climate change. Read more here.

Heather Smiley, Republican

No campaign website could be found for Smiley, who lives in Riverview in Wayne County, and she hasn’t filed any documentation as yet with the Federal Election Commission. But her Facebook page indicated she is running for the 6th District seat and at least one post decried increased costs in the American economy, urging voters to support conservative candidates. It also said she is a retiree of Ford Motor Co., having worked in its Analytics, Strategy & Planning division. Read more here.

7th Congressional District

Curtis Hertel, Democrat

Part of a well-known Michigan political family, Hertel, started in politics at the county level before representing the Lansing area in the state Senate for eight years. He worked briefly as a legislative director for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. A married father of four, he’s running to fill a congressional seat held by fellow Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who is running for the U.S. Senate. Hertel has union backing and touts his efforts to bring manufacturing jobs to mid-Michigan. He supports abortion access and gun safety measures like red flag laws and extreme protection orders. Read more here.

Tom Barrett, Republican

A former Army helicopter pilot with 22 years of military experience, Barrett attended college on the GI Bill and served in the Michigan Senate for four years. He is seeking a seat he pursued in 2022, losing to incumbent Rep. Elissa Slotkin in one of the nation’s most expensive congressional races. Barrett aims to bring down inflation by reducing government spending and cutting taxes. He opposes corporate subsidies and says he wants foreign trade deals that place America first. Barrett is endorsed by Right to Life of Michigan and former President Donald Trump. Read more here.

8th Congressional District

Paul Junge, Republican

Junge, of Grand Blanc, is running for a third time since 2020, having lost to U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, that year and to U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, in 2022. A former Lansing TV anchor who then worked in Washington for a U.S. senator and Citizenship and Immigration Services, Junge says he is running to promote “fair trade, fewer regulations, lower taxes” and to stop the flow of illegal drugs and immigrants across the Southern border. He is also a strong supporter of Israel, saying the U.S. must stand with “freedom-loving allies.” Read more here.

Kristen McDonald Rivet, Democrat

Elected two years ago to the state Senate, McDonald Rivet, of Bay City, came to politics having previously worked to improve education and child care, serving as executive director of Michigan Head Start, chief of staff for the state Department of Education and vice president of the Skillman Foundation. In the state Legislature, she has led efforts to cut taxes on middle-class families, has advocated for protecting abortion rights and pushed a bill requiring safe storage of firearms around children. She says she’s going to continue making those issues priorities and working to bring better-paying jobs to Michigan. Read more here.

9th Congressional District

Lisa McClain, Republican

McClain, a former senior vice president with Hantz Group, a financial services company, who lives in Bruce Township, came out of nowhere to grab this seat in 2020 and has established herself as a conservative voice and ally of former President Donald Trump’s in Washington. Serving on the Oversight and Accountability Committee along with other assignments, she has made the economy, cracking down on the entry of undocumented immigrants into the country and Second Amendment protections priorities as well as stripping funding from schools that allow transgender women to compete in sports against women who were born female. She has been adamantly opposed to abortion rights and voted against certifying the 2020 election for President Joe Biden. Read more here.

Clint St. Mosley, Democrat

A Lake Orion insurance agent and small business owner, St. Mosley is running on a set of priorities he says includes enacting reasonable gun safety measures, protecting immigrants who were brought into the U.S. as children, and embracing measures that both fight climate change and create economic opportunities and jobs. St. Mosley says he is also running to fight the “extreme partisan rhetoric bogging down our country” and to help people struggling financially. Read more here.

10th Congressional District

John James, Republican

James, a businessman, former Army helicopter pilot and the state’s only Black congressman, ran for U.S. Senate twice unsuccessfully before taking on this newly created seat in 2022 and winning by a narrow margin. Since then, he has been a reliable vote for Republican leadership, siding with mainstream GOP officeholders to avoid shutdowns and decrying the Biden administration on issues involving the Southern border, electric vehicle policies and more. But having moved into the district after taking office, James, of Shelby Township, has also showered attention on Selfridge Air National Guard Base and worked to bring earmarks back to the district. Read more here.

Carl Marlinga, Democrat

A former Macomb County prosecutor and judge, Marlinga, a Sterling Heights resident and longtime force in local politics, won the Democratic nomination to this seat two years ago and came within 1,600 votes — about half of a percentage point — from beating current U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township. As such, Marlinga is a potentially formidable candidate again, having widespread name recognition in the district and striking a more moderate tone than some. He is campaigning on protecting supply chains from communist threats, fighting inflation and enacting gun measures that would ban high-powered semi-automatic weapons. He also has voiced support for protecting abortion rights. Read more here.

11th Congressional District

Nick Somberg, Republican

A Bingham Farms criminal defense and personal injury lawyer, Somberg describes himself as a conservative and a libertarian, saying his political interest took off after he volunteered for former Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential campaign in 2012. Saying his beliefs transcend party lines, Somberg says on his campaign website that he is reaching out to voters “who believe in the Constitution, support free speech and free markets, and want the freedom to defend themselves and raise their families as they see fit.” Read more here.

Haley Stevens, Democrat

Formerly the de facto chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto task force, Stevens, of Birmingham, flipped what had previously been a Republican-leaning district in 2018 and has remained a force in Michigan politics. Two years ago, in a redrawn (and more Democratic-friendly) district, she handily defeated former U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, D-Bloomfield Township, in a campaign that saw her as the candidate considered more friendly to Israel while Levin, who is Jewish, was chastised for his friendship of other members of Congress more critical of Israel. Stevens has been a reliable Democratic vote throughout her career and has also championed legislation to build up American supply lines, protect manufacturing and extend STEM research. She also has been a voice for LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive freedoms. Read more here.

12th Congressional District

Rashida Tlaib, Democrat

Rashida Tlaib, D Tlaib, D-Detroit, was elected to the U.S. House in 2018, emerging from a crowded Democratic primary field in the solidly blue district. She is a member of “The Squad,” the name for the group of representatives from the left flank of the Democratic Party. Tlaib became the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan Legislature in 2008 and is currently the only Palestinian American member of Congress. This year, she supported a campaign to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic Party to pressure President Joe Biden to support a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Read more here.

James D. Hooper, Republican

James Hooper describes himself as “Unapologetically a Conservative Christian Believer” who opposes abortion, believes the 2020 election “was hijacked” despite postelection reviews that have upheld the results and calls the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution establishing the right to bear arms “the necessary bulwark with which all our other Rights are guaranteed,” according to his campaign website. He previously worked abroad with Samaritan’s Purse — an evangelical Christian humanitarian organization — doing missionary work in Liberia before returning home to take care of his mother who had Alzheimer’s before passing away, his website states. Read more here.

13th Congressional District

Shri Thanedar, Democrat

Thanedar, D-Detroit, is a freshman member of Congress who emerged from a crowded primary field in 2022 in a newly drawn congressional district. He previously served as a state representative in the Michigan House and ran for governor in 2018. Thanedar is a millionaire entrepreneur and Indian immigrant who rose from poverty. “I’ll never forget what it’s like to live in poverty, and I’ll never stop working to lift Detroit families out of it,” he says on his campaign website. Thanedar — a vocal defender of Israel — has received campaign contributions from the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. Read more here.

Martell D. Bivings, Republican

Bivings is the Republican seeking to represent the 13th District. He has a policy background working as an analyst for the city of Detroit and previously worked at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation — a quasi-public economic development organization — as a business liaison, according to his campaign website. He points to his experience to make the case that he can pursue policies in Congress to ease inflation, provide tax breaks for existing homeowners and support entrepreneurship. Among his top priorities are providing tax breaks for child care and securing the border. He is supporting Trump’s reelection bid. Read more here.

This year's voter guide was compiled by reporters Clara Hendrickson, John Wisely, Arpan Lobo, Paul Egan, Todd Spangler, Niraj Warikoo, Christina Hall, Bill Laytner, Gina Kaufman, Ahmad Garnett, Jenna Prestininzi, Bella Bakeman, Carmella Guaglianone and Diamy Wang, with editing help from Emily Lawler, Pat Byrne, Sally Tato and Jewel Gopwani.

Questions about this guide, or about election coverage in the Free Press? Contact State Government & Politics Editor Emily Lawler: [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Voter guide: US House races