my-server
← Wiki

2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the 14 U.S. representatives from the state of Michigan, one from each of the state's 14 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election, other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The filing deadline for candidates filing for the August 7 primary was April 24, 2018. Unless otherwise indicated, the Cook Political Report rated the congressional races as safe for the party of the incumbent.

Two seats shifted from Republican to Democratic control. In the 8th Congressional District, Elissa Slotkin defeated incumbent Mike Bishop and in an open seat for the 11th Congressional District, Haley Stevens defeated Lena Epstein. This left Michigan's U.S. House delegation in the 116th United States Congress with seven Democrats and seven Republicans until July 4, 2019, when Justin Amash of the 3rd Congressional District left the Republican Party to become an independent, shifting the balance of power in Michigan's House delegation to a Democratic plurality for the first time since 2011.

Results summary

Statewide

District

Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan by district:

District 1

The 1st district consists of the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula including Alpena, Marquette, and Traverse City. This district had a PVI of R+9. The district, which makes up about 44% of the land area of the state of Michigan, is the second-largest congressional district east of the Mississippi River by land area. The incumbent was Republican Jack Bergman, who had represented the district since 2017. He was elected to replace retiring representative Dan Benishek with 55% of the vote in 2016. The Cook Political Report rated this race "likely Republican".

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Democratic primary

Matt Morgan was the only Democrat to file to run. However, he was removed from the ballot because he used a PO box address on his nomination petitions instead of his residential address. Instead, Morgan ran a write-in campaign, hoping to qualify for the ballot by winning at least five percent of the total votes cast in the district for the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Over 4,800 votes were cast in Marquette County, which would have been enough by itself to qualify Morgan for the ballot. According to official results, Democrats cast 29,293 write-in votes in the primary for Morgan, more than seven times the 3,781-vote threshold. On August 24, the Board of State Canvassers placed him on the November ballot.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Matthew W. Morgan, retired US Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and Iraq War veteran
Withdrawn
  • Dwight Brady, professor

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 2

The 2nd district is located in West Michigan and is anchored by the suburbs of Grand Rapids such as Kentwood and Wyoming, other cities include Holland and Muskegon. This district had a PVI of R+9. The incumbent was Republican Bill Huizenga, who had represented the district since 2011. He was re-elected to a fourth term with 63% of the vote in 2016.

Republican primary

Primary results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Rob Davidson, ER doctor
Failed to qualify
  • Nick Schiller, political newcomer

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 3

The 3rd district is located in inland West Michigan, centered on the city of Grand Rapids, and extends down to Battle Creek and Marshall. This district had a PVI of R+6. The incumbent was Republican Justin Amash, who had represented the district since 2011. He was re-elected to a fourth term with 59% of the vote in 2016.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Justin Amash, incumbent U.S. representative
Failed to qualify
  • Joe Farrington
  • Matt Hall

Primary results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Cathy Albro, educator
Eliminated in primary
  • Fred Wooden, pastor

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Predictions

Results

District 4

The 4th district is located in Northern and Central Michigan including portions of the Tri-Cities region, specifically Midland, other cities include Mount Pleasant and the northern suburbs of Lansing. This district had a PVI of R+10. The incumbent was Republican John Moolenaar, who had represented the district since 2015. He was re-elected to a second term with 62% of the vote in 2016.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Jerry Hilliard
Eliminated in primary
  • Zigmond Kozicki
Failed to qualify
  • Dion Adams

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

District 5

The 5th district is located along the eastern coast of Michigan, centered on the Tri-Cities region of Mid Michigan, such as Bay City and Saginaw, and stretches down into Flint. This district had a PVI of D+5. The incumbent was Democrat Dan Kildee, who had represented the district since 2013. He was re-elected to a third term with 61% of the vote in 2016. Kildee considered running for governor in 2018, but decided to run for re-election instead.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Republican primary

Michigan's 5th district was included on the initial list of Democratic held seats being targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2018. There was one Republican candidate, Durand resident Travis Wines, who lived outside the district.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Travis Wines

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

District 6

The 6th district is located in Southwestern corner of Michigan, specifically the Michiana region. The district is anchored by Kalamazoo and the surrounding areas including Benton Harbor and Niles. This district had a PVI of R+4. The incumbent was Republican Fred Upton, who had represented the district since 1993 and previously represented the 4th district from 1987 to 1993. He was re-elected to a sixteenth term with 59% of the vote in 2016. The Cook Political Report rated this race as "likely Republican".

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary
  • David Benac, professor
  • Rich Eichholz, businessman and biologist
  • George Franklin, former Kellogg Company executive

Failed to qualify

  • Paul Clements, professor and nominee for this seat in 2014 and 2016
  • Eponine Garrod, local activist and quality control chemist
Declined

Endorsements

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 7

The 7th district is located in Southern Michigan including downtown Lansing and the western suburbs of Ann Arbor including Lodi and Milan, other cities include Adrian, Coldwater, and Jackson. This district had a PVI of R+7. The incumbent was Republican Tim Walberg, who had represented the district since 2011 and previously represented the district from 2007 to 2009. He was re-elected to a fourth consecutive and fifth total term with 55% of the vote in 2016. The Cook Political Report rated this race as "likely Republican".

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Democratic primary

Michigan's 7th district was included on the initial list of Republican held seats being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2018.

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary
  • Steven Friday, social worker

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 8

The 8th district was centered on the state capital, Lansing, and stretches into the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit including Rochester Hills. This district had a PVI of R+4. The incumbent was Republican Mike Bishop, who had represented the district since 2015. He was re-elected to a second term with 56% of the vote in 2016. This race was considered competitive, with the Cook Political Report rating it as "Tossup" in August 2018. With $28 million spent, it drew the most campaign spending for a U.S. House seat in Michigan's history. Elissa Slotkin defeated Bishop, flipping the district to the Democratic side.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Mike Bishop, incumbent U.S. representative
Eliminated in primary
  • Lokesh Kumar

Primary results

Democratic primary

Michigan's 8th district had been included on the initial list of Republican held seats being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2018.

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Failed to qualify
  • Darlene Domanik, attorney

Primary results

Libertarian party

  • Brian Ellison

General election

Endorsements

Debates

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 9

The 9th district is located in Metro Detroit including Roseville, Royal Oak, and Warren. This district had a PVI of D+4. The incumbent was Democrat Sander Levin, who had represented the district since 2013 and previously represented the 12th district from 1993 to 2013 and the 17th district from 1983 to 1993. He was re-elected to an eighteenth term with 58% of the vote in 2016. In December 2017, Levin announced his retirement, and that he would not seek re-election in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Andy Levin, former director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth and son of incumbent Sander Levin
Eliminated in primary
  • Martin Brook, attorney
  • Ellen Lipton, former state representative
Withdrawn
Declined
  • Sander Levin, incumbent representative
  • Andy Meisner, Oakland County Treasurer

Endorsements

Polling

Primary results

Republican primary

Michigan's 9th district was included on the initial list of Democratic held seats being targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2018.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Candius Stearns, businesswoman

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

District 10

The 10th district is located in an area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan known as The Thumb and parts of the Metro Detroit area including Chesterfield, Macomb, and Port Huron. This was the most Republican friendly district, with a PVI of R+13. The incumbent was Republican Paul Mitchell, who had represented the district since 2017. He was elected to replace retiring representative Candice Miller with 63% of the vote in 2016.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Kimberly Bizon
Eliminated in primary
  • Frank Accavitti Jr.
  • Michael McCarthy

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

District 11

The 11th district is located in Metro Detroit including Livonia, Novi, and Troy. This district had a PVI of R+4. The incumbent was Republican Dave Trott, who had represented the district since 2015. He was re-elected to a second term with 53% of the vote in 2016. Trott was not running for re-election in 2018. This race was considered to be competitive; the Cook Political Report rated this contest as a "toss up".

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Lena Epstein, businesswoman and Michigan co-chair of the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign
Eliminated in primary
Withdrawn
Failed to qualify
  • Kristine Bonds, daughter of TV news anchor Bill Bonds. (endorsed Kowall)
Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Primary results

Democratic primary

Michigan's 11th district was included on the initial list of Republican held seats being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2018.

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Failed to qualify
  • Daniel Haberman, businessman and attorney
Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Primary results

Libertarian party

  • Leonard Schwartz, attorney

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 12

The 12th district is based in Ann Arbor and the surrounding cities including Ypsilanti, and the western suburbs of Detroit including Dearborn and Lincoln Park. This district had a PVI of D+14. The incumbent was Democrat Debbie Dingell, who had represented the district since 2015. She was re-elected with 64% of the vote in 2016.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Jeff Jones

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

District 13

The 13th district is located entirely within Wayne County and is centered on the city of the Detroit and the immediate surrounding suburbs including Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and Westland. This was the most Democratic-friendly district, with a PVI of D+32. The seat was vacant for most of 2018, following the resignation of John Conyers in December 2017. A special primary and special general election were held in August and November 2018, on dates coinciding with the already scheduled primary and general elections in a money-saving move by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

Conyers represented the district from 2013 to 2017. He previously represented the 14th district from 1993 to 2013, and the 1st district from 1965 to 1993. He was Dean of the United States House of Representatives, and was re-elected to a twenty-seventh term with 77% of the vote in 2016.

Former state representative Rashida Tlaib, a member of Democratic Socialists of America, won the Democratic primary. Tlaib, however, lost the special primary to Brenda Jones, president of the Detroit City Council. Jones served for the final 35 days of the unexpired term before Tlaib was sworn in.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
Eliminated in primary
Failed to qualify
  • John Conyers III, hedge fund manager
  • Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, state representative
  • Kimberly Hill Knott, government relations, environmental justice

Withdrew

  • Michael Gilmore, attorney and activist

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Debate

Primary results

Republican primary

David Dudenhoefer was the only Republican candidate to announce his run for the Republican nomination, but he failed to qualify. He did, however, run as a write-in candidate. As a result, Tlaib was opposed in the general election only by minor party candidates and write-in candidates.

Candidates

Failed to qualify
  • David A. Dudenhoefer, district GOP chair

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

District 14

The 14th district stretches from the northern Detroit suburbs including Farmington Hills, Southfield, and West Bloomfield, to eastern part of Detroit. This district had a PVI of D+30. The incumbent was Democrat Brenda Lawrence, who had represented the district since 2015. She was re-elected to a second term with 79% of the vote in 2016.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Marc Herschfus

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

References

External links

Official campaign websites of first district candidates

Official campaign websites of second district candidates

Official campaign websites of third district candidates

Official campaign websites of fourth district candidates

Official campaign websites of fifth district candidates

Official campaign websites of sixth district candidates

Official campaign websites of seventh district candidates

Official campaign websites of eighth district candidates

Official campaign websites of ninth district candidates

Official campaign websites of tenth district candidates

Official campaign websites of eleventh district candidates

Official campaign websites of twelfth district candidates

Official campaign websites of thirteenth district candidates

Official campaign websites of fourteenth district candidates