Contested Races for U.S. Senate, 13 Seats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tap for 2026
As you know, 2026 is an election year, and even though there is no Presidential election this year, it’s still shaping up to be a monumental year. Michigan has an open U.S. Senate seat for the second time in two election cycles. All 13 Michigan seats in Congress are up for election this year, as well. In this article, we will take a look at these important elections. Legislative Republican and Democratic primary elections will be held on Tuesday, August 4th, and the 2026 General Election will be on Tuesday, November 3rd.
U.S. Senate: Who Will Succeed Gary Peters?
When incumbent Senator Gary Peters announced last year he would not be running for a third term in 2026, it set off a scramble in both parties. The Cook Political Report has said that the Michigan Senate race is one of only two tossups in the Senate for 2026. It is expected that this will be one of the most expensive races in the nation.
The three-way Democratic primary in August is expected to be extremely competitive. Candidates include current state Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), current membe5r of Congress Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), and former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed (D-Detroit).
The Republican side is much clearer, with 2024 senatorial nominee and former Congressman Mike Rogers the favorite over former Michigan GOP co-chair Bernadette Smith. Rogers lost to U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin by about 18,000 votes in 2024.
U.S. Congress: At Least Two New Members in 2027
Michigan’s congressional delegation is currently controlled 7-6 by Republicans. Last year, Congressman John James announced he would not be seeking re-election in 2026, instead running for the Republican nomination for governor, and Congresswoman Haley Stevens announced she would run for U.S. Senate, which means there will be at least two new members of the Michigan delegation in the 120th Congress, which convenes in January 2027. Michigan’s congressional districts, including incumbent members of Congress, are as follows:
District 1: Incumbent Congressman Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet), a co-sponsor of the Medicare full inclusion bill, H.R. 539, is running for re-election in this geographically large district, which contains the entire UP and much of northern Michigan. Rep. Bergman was reelected with 59.1% percent of the vote in 2024. The 1st District is generally considered to be a safe Republican seat.
District 2: Incumbent Congressman John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia), a co-sponsor of H.R. 539, is running for re-election. This seat contains several mid-Michigan counties and part of the West Michigan lakeshore. Rep. Moolenaar was re-elected with 65.1% of the vote in 2024. The 2nd District is generally considered to be a safe Republican seat.
District 3: Incumbent Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D-Grand Rapids) has announced she will run for a third term representing this seat, which contains Grand Rapids, Muskegon, and other lakeshore communities. Rep. Scholten won re-election with 53.7% of the vote in 2024. The 3rd District is considered to be a safe Democratic seat.
District 4: Incumbent Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-Holland), a co-sponsor of H.R. 539, is running for re-election in this southwestern Michigan seat, which includes Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and a portion of Ottawa County, including Holland. Rep. Huizenga won the district, which is considered a safe Republican seat, with 55.1% of the vote in 2024.
District 5: Incumbent Congressman Tim Walberg (R-Tipton), a co-sponsor of H.R. 539, is seeking reelection in this district, which contains Michigan’s entire southern border with Indiana and Ohio, all of Jackson County, and portions of Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties. Rep. Walberg was reelected with 65.7% of the vote in 2024. The district is considered a safe Republican seat.
District 6: Incumbent Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) is running for re-election in 2026. The 6th District, considered a safe Democratic district, is based in Ann Arbor and includes most of Washtenaw County and significant parts of Monroe, Oakland, and Wayne counties. In 2024, she won 62.0% of the vote. Rep. Dingell has previously sponsored our Medicare bill, but is not a current co-sponsor of H.R. 539.
District 7: This Lansing/East Lansing-centric seat, which contains Ingham, Eaton, Livingston, Clinton, and a small portion of Oakland counties, is represented by first-term incumbent Congressman Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte), who flipped the district to the Republicans with 50.3% of the vote in 2024. He is running for re-election in 2026. The 7th CD is considered a true toss-up, with a 50/50 partisan split. It is consistently ranked among the most competitive seats in the nation.
District 8: First-term incumbent Congresswoman Kristin McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City) is running for re-election in this district, which centers around the Saginaw Bay and includes the cities of Flint, Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City. She won in 2024 with 51.3% of the vote. Political pundits say the district leans Democratic, but it is still considered one of the closest in the state.
9th District: Incumbent Lisa McClain (R-Bruce Township) is running for reelection in this Thumb-based district, including Port Huron and northern Detroit exurbs in Oakland and Macomb counties. She won 66.8% of the vote in 2024. The district is considered a safe Republican seat.
10th District: With Congressman James running for Michigan governor, this district, based primarily in Macomb County, including Warren and Sterling Heights, and a small portion of eastern Oakland County (Rochester and Rochester Hills), will not have an incumbent running for re-election. Rep. James won 51.1% of the vote in 2024. The district is considered a tossup.
Declared Republican candidates include Mike Bouchard, Army National Guard brigadier general and son of Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, and Robert Lulgjuraj, Macomb County assistant prosecuting attorney. Dems running for the seat include former Pontiac mayor and state Representative Tim Griemel, attorney Eric Chung, and prosecutor Christine Hines.
District 11: With incumbent Congresswoman Stevens running for U.S. Senate, this district, which is located entirely within Oakland County and includes all or parts of the cities of Royal Oak, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Troy, Pontiac, Waterford, Walled Lake, Wixom, and Farmington Hills, is open. Rep. Stevens won in 2024 with 58.2% of the vote. The district is considered to be a safe Democratic seat.
Declared candidates include Democrats state Senator Jeremy Moss of Southfield and a host of others. It is unclear at this time who the frontrunner is for the Republicans in this district.
District 12: Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), a co-sponsor of H.R. 539, is running for reelection in this district, which adds Oakland County’s Southfield to Dearborn and other municipalities in northern Wayne County, including portions of Detroit. She was reelected with 69.7% of the vote in 2024. The district is considered a safe Democratic seat.
District 13: Congressman Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit), a co-sponsor of H.R. 539, is running for reelection in this district, which is based entirely in Wayne County and includes most of Detroit, Taylor, Romulus, and some Downriver communities. He won 68.6% of the vote in 2024. The seat is safely Democratic.
Get Involved in a Pro-Chiropractic Campaign TODAY!
A major part of our legislative strategy depends on chiropractors across the state establishing and maintaining relationships with their sitting lawmakers and candidates who support chiropractic. One of the best ways to establish such a relationship is to get involved in their campaign. Here are a few ways you can get involved:
- Donate money to the campaign
- Go “door-to-door”
- Work a campaign “phone bank”
- Host a fundraiser
- Do some office work
- Put up a yard sign (at your home and office) or bumper sticker
- Cultivate a relationship with staff
After the Campaign
Your relationship with a candidate must not end when the campaign is over. After establishing a relationship with a candidate or sitting legislator, you can be an invaluable resource to them. Who better to advise a lawmaker on a health care issue than a health care practitioner from their district? You are well equipped to provide specific examples of how patients and other chiropractors will be affected by proposed legislative action. Contact the MAC office for talking points on the chiropractic view of pending legislation.
Let Us Know!
If you do work on or have a relationship with a candidate or sitting lawmaker, be sure to let us know! Your contact could be a key factor in moving our aggressive, pro-chiropractic legislative agenda! Contact MAC Assistant Director Tim Gaughan @ tim@chiromi.com or (517) 367-2225.
