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Kalamazoo attorney declares run for Congress, aims to challenge Huizenga [1]
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Date: 2023-07-19
Kalamazoo attorney Jessica Swartz is making a run for the Democratic nomination for a U.S. House district in southwest Michigan with the aim of challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga next year.
Swartz, 46, is senior counsel for the Miller Johnson law firm and previously worked at Western Michigan University and for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington as an appellate attorney through 2016, she said. Starting 2017, she volunteered with the nonpartisan group Voters Not Politicians, which promoted the 2018 Michigan ballot proposal that established a citizens redistricting commission.
"I'm really looking forward to supporting the honest, hardworking people in this district who play by the rules," she said in an interview. "I would like to stop the gridlock in Congress and work on the issues that the vast majority of us agree on. And some of those are the economy, the environment and the extreme attacks on women."
This would be Swartz's first run for public office, and she likely has an uphill climb. Huizenga raised nearly $402,000 last quarter and reported $630,000 in the bank as of June 30. He won election to a seventh term last fall with 54% of the vote to 43% for Democrat Joseph Alfonso, who has also filed to run again in 2024. Alfonso raised $37,258 last cycle to Huizenga's $3 million, campaign finance records show.
Swartz is the third Democrat to join the race, in addition to Alfonso and Chris Glasser of Kalamazoo, a Children's Protective Services investigator for the state, who has also filed to run in the primary.
Huizenga of Holland is a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, serving as chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. This year, he's also heading up House Republicans' efforts to counter socially and environmentally conscious investing, also known as environmental, social and governance investing, or ESG.
A small businessman, Huizenga also is co-chair of the bipartisan Great Lakes Task Force and is co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group. On Wednesday, Huizenga introduced a bipartisan bill to expand eligibility and flexibility within a U.S. Department of Agriculture financial aid program for orchards and nursery tree growers that lose trees, bushes or vines to natural disasters or disease.
The new 4th District stretches from southern Ottawa County to northern Berrien County, covering all of Allegan and Van Buren counties, part of Kalamazoo County and Battle Creek in Calhoun County.
Swartz's campaign said she'll run from the "middle" and contends the district is trending bluer, noting Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won the district last fall, and that residents voted in support of Proposal 3 to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Huizenga is anti-abortion. Former President Donald Trump would have won the district were the boundaries in place during the 2020 election.
Swartz's decision to run was motivated by the "bickering and the extremism on both sides in Congress," she said. "This district is trending blue, so it seems like a really good opportunity to get in. You know, I'm a pragmatist and just try to solve the problems and talk to the people."
She anticipates focusing on increasing costs of living, implementing the bipartisan infrastructure bill and protecting the Great Lakes. Swartz said she's in talks with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and EMILY's List, a political action committee that helps elect women who support abortion rights.
"A few others have filed, but we’re running a professional campaign here. We've got support nationally and locally and from the state level," Swartz said.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, which defends GOP incumbents, said on Wednesday that Swartz would be a "rubber stamp" for President Joe Biden.
“Jessica Swartz is just another liberal activist joining Michigan Democrats’ race to the Left," NRCC spokesman Chris Gustafson said in a statement. "Bill Huizenga has worked tirelessly to fight big government overreach and deliver results for West Michigan families.”
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Michigan's 4th District as "solid" Republican (R+5).
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[1] Url:
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/michigan/2023/07/19/kalamazoo-lawyer-declares-run-for-congress-aims-to-challenge-huizenga/70428939007/
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