Michigan’s 1st Congressional District House Race 2026

A Detroit News investigation found Michigan Rep. Jack Bergman has been living part time in a Capitol Hill rowhouse long owned by an entity tied to Kim Kiyosaki, former business partner of "Rich Dad Poor Dad" author Robert Kiyosaki, a close friend and top donor who with Kiyosaki has given Bergman's campaigns more than $257,000. In February, Kiyosaki sold the home for $1.55 million to Bergman's daughter and son-in-law via a seller-financed land contract requiring no principal payments until 2033. Bergman's office says he pays fair-market rent and is in compliance with House ethics rules, but watchdog groups say the arrangement may be structured to funnel value to Bergman's family while avoiding ethics scrutiny, especially since he has also claimed taxpayer-funded lodging reimbursements.

President Trump is set to hold a rally Sunday in Port Huron, Michigan, ahead of the Nov. 3 election, with Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers' attendance uncertain. The visit comes as Rogers faces Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in a closely watched race that could decide Senate control, a rematch dynamic after Rogers' narrow 2024 loss to Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Political scientists say the rally could mobilize GOP turnout but also hand Democrats material tying Republicans to an unpopular president. A day earlier, Barack Obama rallies in Detroit alongside El-Sayed and gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson, who faces Republican Rep. John James. Republican ads have largely avoided mentioning Trump, while Democratic ads increasingly invoke him.

Some Michigan Republican officials and candidates are voicing concern about their party's prospects in the November election, citing surging gas and diesel prices linked to the war in Iran and signs of flagging GOP voter enthusiasm. Former state Rep. Pam Hornberger called the fight to keep the state House majority a "huge struggle" and said Republicans have little chance of flipping a key state Senate seat in suburban Detroit. A Marquette County GOP chairman described local volunteer enthusiasm as at "all time lows," and a former 5th District GOP chairman estimated a fifth of Trump's base may sit out the election or vote Democratic.

Republicans currently hold a narrow 58-52 state House majority, while Democrats control the state Senate 20-18. GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers has proposed suspending fuel taxes to ease costs. Other Republicans, including Rep. Mark Tisdel and former Rep. Rocky Raczkowski, offered more mixed assessments, acknowledging a difficult political environment tied to affordability concerns and the desire among voters for checks on unified Republican control in Washington.

Republican U.S. House candidate Michael Bouchard released his first general election video ad, "Jump," in which the former Army paratrooper leaps from a plane while pledging to fight socialism if elected to represent Michigan's 10th District. The Rochester Hills candidate's campaign says the ad is part of a seven-figure television and social media push, funded entirely with campaign money, in a race political handicappers rate as a toss-up.

Bouchard will face Democratic nominee Christina Hines, a former Wayne County special victims prosecutor, in November. The winner succeeds GOP Rep. John James, who is running for Michigan governor instead of seeking reelection. The 10th District covers southern Macomb County and Rochester/Rochester Hills in Oakland County.

The ad is set to air during major sports broadcasts and prime programming, with some slots costing tens of thousands of dollars. Bouchard holds an early fundraising edge, reporting roughly $960,000 on hand versus Hines's approximately $160,000, though her campaign has yet to release its first ad.

State Rep. Jason Morgan, a Democrat from Ann Arbor, is seeking a third term representing Michigan's 23rd House District in the Nov. 3 general election. He faces Republican Miriam Corvino and Green Party candidate Christina Marudas. The district, covering much of Ann Arbor's east side and stretching through northeast Washtenaw County to Northville, Plymouth and South Lyon, leans heavily Democratic; Morgan won with about 62% of the vote in 2024.

Morgan, a former Washtenaw County commissioner and teacher, outlined positions on education funding, affordability, energy policy and immigrant rights as part of a nonpartisan voter guide produced with the League of Women Voters of Michigan Education Fund. He was the only candidate among the three to respond to the guide's questionnaire. His platform emphasizes education funding reform, lowering housing and healthcare costs, clean energy investment, and protecting due-process rights for noncitizens.

Federal emergency orders keeping the J.H. Campbell coal plant in west Michigan running have emerged as a campaign issue in the state's 4th District U.S. House race. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has repeatedly extended 90-day directives forcing the plant to stay open past its planned closure, citing electricity supply concerns, despite Consumers Energy's earlier deal with state officials to shut it down.

Democratic challenger Sean McCann is attacking GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga over the plant's continued operation, arguing it has raised Consumers Energy customers' bills by more than $200 million and pledging to push for its closure if elected. Huizenga counters that Michigan's clean-energy mandates, championed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Democrats including McCann, are driving up utility costs and threatening reliable power. Rep. Hillary Scholten joined McCann in criticizing the administration's intervention as an unprecedented move against a private utility's decision. The dispute reflects a broader national fight over fossil fuel plant closures versus renewable energy transitions, playing out in a district expected to be closely contested this November.

State Rep. Morgan Foreman, D-Pittsfield Township, is seeking a second term representing Michigan's 33rd House District, which covers much of southern Ann Arbor and parts of southwestern Washtenaw County, including Saline. She faces Republican challenger Catherine Rogers in the Nov. 3 election. Foreman won the heavily Democratic seat with about 74% of the vote in 2024.

As part of a nonpartisan Vote411.org voter guide produced with the League of Women Voters of Michigan Education Fund, Foreman answered questions on education, the economy, energy and immigration, pledging support for competitive educator pay, affordable housing and child care, utility accountability paired with cleaner energy investment, and consistent application of constitutional rights alongside federal immigration reform. Rogers did not respond to the guide. Given the district's strong Democratic lean, Foreman is widely considered the favorite to retain the seat, though the race offers a data point on down-ballot competitiveness in the broader 2025 Michigan legislative cycle.

Michigan House Democrats are launching a roughly $700,000 broadcast television ad campaign in the Grand Rapids media market aimed at unseating Republican House Speaker Matt Hall in the 42nd House District. It is the first time the Michigan House Democratic Fund, the caucus's campaign arm, has spent in this race, citing internal polling suggesting Hall's Kalamazoo County seat has become competitive despite his roughly 15-point win there in 2024.

House Democratic Leader Ranjeev Puri criticized Hall's leadership of the 58-52 Republican-majority chamber, saying voters are frustrated with gridlock. Hall faces Democrat Nick Rowe, a U.S. Air Force veteran and Western Michigan University aviation faculty member, in the general election.

Democrats are also targeting other close districts—Battle Creek's 44th, Jackson's 46th, and Marquette's 109th—as part of a broader push to flip the state House majority, while defending their own vulnerable 31st District seat. A similar effort to oust House GOP leadership failed in 2012.

Republican House Speaker Matt Hall is seeking a fifth term representing Michigan's 42nd House District, facing Democratic challenger Nick Rowe, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and aviation instructor at Western Michigan University. The district covers parts of Kalamazoo and Allegan counties, including Oshtemo Township, Galesburg and Parchment.

Hall, a constitutional attorney and former Michigan Attorney General's office staffer, ran unopposed in the GOP primary and touts education funding increases, property tax cuts, utility rate rollbacks and ending sanctuary city policies. Rowe, who defeated fellow Democrat Bill Korb with nearly 59% of the primary vote, backs higher teacher pay, expanded childcare and housing supply, grid modernization, and constitutional limits on immigration enforcement. The race, part of an MLive/League of Women Voters voter guide, reflects broader statewide battles over the Michigan House majority and could factor into prediction markets tracking state legislative control ahead of the next election cycle.

Control of the Michigan House of Representatives, all 110 seats of which are on the Nov. 3 ballot, hinges on six competitive districts, three of them in Metro Detroit. Republicans currently hold a 58-52 majority after flipping the chamber in 2024, and Democrats need to sweep these toss-ups to regain the majority.

The key races include the 27th District (Jaime Churches vs. incumbent Rylee Linting), 31st District (Shannon Dare Wayne vs. Laura Perry, an open seat), 44th District (Jim Haadsma vs. incumbent Steve Frisbie, a rematch after Haadsma lost by 79 votes in 2024), 46th District (Jan Maino vs. incumbent Kathy Schmaltz), 54th District (Sarah Pounds vs. Roman Gaskey, another open seat), and 109th District (Anna Aho Rink vs. incumbent Karl Bohnak). Several races are drawing heavy ad spending and feature first-time candidates. Outcomes will determine whether Republicans retain their narrow majority or Democrats reclaim the chamber ahead of 2026 legislative priorities.