This November, voters in Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District will consider two candidates to represent them in the United States House of Representatives, as Democrat Hillary Scholten and Republican Peter Meijer held an official debate Thursday evening in downtown Grand Rapids. It's a closely watched race nationwide, as the seat in Washington DC is up for grabs after United States Representative and Incumbent Justin Amash decided not to seek re-election in 2020.
After a contentious Presidential Debate on Tuesday, much of the debate between Scholten and Meijer Thursday evening focused on the candidates’ ability to have civil discourse and work across party lines for the greater good of West Michigan, something both candidates said they would be able to do.
Hillary Scholten: “Everyone who knows my story knows that I was not born and raised a Democrat; I am used to working with a lot of different viewpoints, a lot of different people to get things done. It is what I have been doing my entire career. And that is absolutely what I will do in Congress. Because the people of Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District are tired of the gridlock. They need a solution oriented ‘Mom’ in Congress to get it done.”
Peter Meijer: “My background in Veteran advocacy has been bi-partisan through and through. I also helped elect more post 9/11 veterans to congress to try and reduce the partisanship that is locking up our country, and make sure we could drive forward the folks that are putting country ahead of party. Now if elected, there are plenty of places where the President and I agree. But I also wish, and I will hold my party and our leaders to account for this, I wish we were doing more.”
The race could come down to the wire. According to recent polling data including RealClearPolitics and FiveThirty Eight, the candidates are in a virtual tie heading into the November election.