U.S. House hopefuls Junge, McDonald Rivet to face off at mid-Michigan forum

U.S. House candidates Paul Junge and Kristen McDonald Rivet will face off for the first and only time this campaign season during a Tuesday night candidates' forum at Saginaw Valley State University.

The SVSU forum, moderated by Detroit News Politics Editor Chad Livengood and Michigan Public's Zoe Clark, will be streamed by CSPAN.

Republican Junge of Grand Blanc Township and Democrat McDonald Rivet of Bay City are vying for the mid-Michigan seat of retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township. Junge lost to Kildee in 2022 by more than 10 percentage points.

The closely watched contest could help determine the House majority next year and is rated a tossup by nonpartisan political handicappers.

Michigan's 8th District has been trending more Republican, though President Joe Biden would have won the 8th District by 2 percentage points in 2020 over former President Donald Trump under the district's new boundaries.

The district covers the Tri-Cities region ― Genesee, Saginaw and Bay counties and parts of Midland County.

McDonald Rivet, 54, has said the choice between her and Junge is “stark.” The first-term state senator and former Bay City commissioner said she’s raised six kids, managed a family budget and cares about the high cost of groceries, while Junge has “relied on his trust fund.”

“I have spent my life doing big things that helped our community, helped our schools and helped the economic stability of families,” she said. “He has been jumping from district to district trying to buy a seat in Congress.”

Junge, 58, a former TV anchor and lawyer by training, has pitched himself as a former prosecutor and political outsider who will stand up to Washington elites who have been “selling us out” for 60 years ― an apparent reference to the Kildee family that’s held the Flint-area seat for decades. He’s trying to tie McDonald Rivet to the Biden-Harris’ record on the Southern border and the economy.

“I'm talking about common sense solutions that work for regular working class, everyday people who are going to work, going to church, going to school, trying to live their lives and get ahead,” Junge said. “I'm determined to listen to them and be a voice for them.”

Outside groups have poured nearly $10 million into the race so far. The House Majority PAC, with ties to Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, has spent about $2.3 million on ads and McDonald Rivet's campaign has spent about the same. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spent about $500,000.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, which is endorsed by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, has spent about $2.2 million, and the self-funding Junge has dropped $3.1 million at least, according to ad-tracking data. Johnson campaigned in Michigan with Junge over the weekend. The National Republican Congressional Committee has spent about $800,000, and another $300,000 on hybrid ads with Junge.

Republicans see a generational opportunity to flip the 8th District this year because it will be the first time without a Kildee on the ballot for U.S. House since 1976, when Dan Kildee’s uncle Dale Kildee was first elected.

Libertarian Steve Barcelo of Fenton, U.S. Taxpayers nominee James Allen Little of Flint, Green Party nominee Jim Casha of Ontario and Kathy Goodwin of Dearborn, representing the Working Class Party, are also on the ballot.

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