November 4, 2014 (2014-11-04) 2016 → 9 5 47.48% 49.17% Start date November 4, 2014 | 9 5 1,466,749 1,519,030 1.86% 1.72% | |
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The 2014 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Michigan will be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the 14 members of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Michigan, one from each of the state's 18 congressional districts. The elections will coincide with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the election of Michigan's governor, as well as the Class 2 U.S. Senate Seat
Contents
- District 1
- Candidates
- District 2
- District 3
- District 4
- District 5
- District 6
- Polling
- District 7
- District 8
- District 9
- District 10
- District 11
- District 12
- District 13
- District 14
- References
Primary elections to determine major party nominees for the general election will be held Tuesday, August 5, 2014, and the partisan filing deadline was Tuesday, April 22, 2014. The members of Congress elected at this election will serve in the 114th Congress.
According to the Rothenberg Political Report, all of Michigan's congressional seats except for the 1st, 7th, 8th and 11th districts are considered "safe" for the party of the incumbent.
District 1
The 1st district includes the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan and part of the Lower Peninsula. 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 is Republican Dan Benishek, who has represented the district since 2011. He was re-elected with 48% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+5.
Benishek was re-elected in 2012 with 48.14% of the total votes cast, defeating Democratic former State Representative Gary McDowell by less than 2,000 votes in a field where two third-party candidates received a combined 4.3 percent of the vote. As of September 30, 2013, Benishek had raised $676,545.98, and has $500,163.86 cash on-hand toward a presumed re-election bid. Iron Mountain businessman and 2012 Republican National Convention delegate Alan Arcand has announced his intention to challenge Benishek in the Republican primary. Former Kalkaska County Sheriff Jerry Cannon has been recruited by Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson to challenge Benishek in the general election. The Rothenberg Political Report rates this race as "Toss-up/Tilt Republican." Benishek defeated Arcand in the August 5 primary. Cannon was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Candidates
Candidates
District 2
The 2nd district is located in West Michigan. The incumbent is Republican Bill Huizenga, who has represented the district since 2011. He was re-elected with 61% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+7.
As of September 30, 2013, Huizenga had raised $537,109.30 for the 2014 election cycle, and has $402,388.39 cash on-hand available toward a presumed re-election bid.
Candidates
Candidates
District 3
The 3rd district is located in West Michigan. The incumbent is Republican Justin Amash, who has represented the district since 2011. He was re-elected with 53% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+4.
As of September 30, 2013, Amash had raised $555,863.56 for the 2014 election cycle, and has $313,844.71 cash on-hand available toward a presumed re-election bid. In September 2013, Amash ended months of speculation regarding whether he would run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Carl Levin, choosing instead to run for re-election to his House seat. Amash faced a primary challenge from investment manager Brian Ellis. Amash defeated Ellis in the Republican primary.
Candidates
Declared
Candidates
District 4
The 4th district is located in Northern and Central Michigan. The incumbent is Republican Dave Camp, who has represented the district since 1993 and previously represented the 10th district from 1991 to 1993. He was re-elected with 63% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+5.
As of September 30, 2013, Camp has raised $1,607,226.02 for the 2014 election cycle, and has $3,198,099.13 cash on-hand available for a presumed re-election bid. In July 2013, Camp announced he was considering running for the U.S. Senate to replace the retiring incumbent Carl Levin, but then the following month announced that he will not do so. In March 2014, he announced that he would not run for re-election. State senator John Moolenaar was the winner of the Republican primary.
Candidates
Candidates
District 5
The 5th district is located in Central Michigan. The incumbent is Democrat Dan Kildee, who has represented the district since 2013. He was elected with 65% of the vote in 2012, succeeding his uncle, Democrat Dale Kildee. The district has a PVI of D+10.
As of September 30, 2013, Kildee has raised $243,246.99 for the 2014 election cycle, and has $210,492.27 cash on-hand available for his re-election bid. He was unopposed in the August primary and will face Republican nominee Allen Hardwick in November.
Candidates
Candidates
District 6
The 6th district is located in Southwest Michigan. The incumbent is Republican Fred Upton, who has represented the district since 1993 and previously represented the 4th district from 1987 to 1993. He was re-elected with 55% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+1.
As of September 30, 2013, Upton has raised $1,205,296.00 for the 2014 election cycle, and has $893,110.90 cash on-hand available for a presumed re-election bid. Upton was challenged for the Republican primary nomination by registered nurse Jim Bussler. Paul Clements, a professor at Western Michigan University, is running for the Democratic nomination. Upton won the Republican nomination/
Upton's relatively disappointing performance in 2012 (winning with 55%, the smallest margin of his career, after outspending his opponent $4 million to $294,000), Clements' strong fundraising and outside spending on behalf of Clements has prompted speculation that Upton could suffer an upset loss. Even a close win for Upton could persuade him to retire, as happened to Republican Charles E. Chamberlain, who only narrowly defeated Democrat Milton Robert Carr in 1972, retiring in 1974 to be succeeded by Carr.
Candidates
Candidates
Polling
District 7
The 7th district is located in Southern Michigan. The incumbent is Republican Tim Walberg, who has represented the district since 2011 and previously represented the district from 2007 to 2009. He was re-elected with 53% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+3.
As of September 30, 2013, Walberg had raised $482,372.42, and has $570,160.47 cash on-hand available for a presumed re-election bid. He is challenged in the August Republican primary by Douglas Radcliffe North. Attorney and former State Representative Pam Byrnes has been recruited by Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson to challenge Walberg. The Rothenberg Political Report rates this race as "Republican Favored." Walberg won the Republican nomination.
Candidates
Candidates
District 8
The 8th district is located in Southern and Southeast Michigan. The incumbent is Republican Mike Rogers, who has represented the district since 2001. He was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+2.
As of September 30, 2013, Rogers had raised $869,321.02, and has $1,819,857.21 cash on-hand available for a presumed re-election bid. Rogers had considering running for the U.S. Senate, but ultimately declined.
Mike Rogers has decided not to seek re-election. Rogers' retirement makes the formerly "Safe Republican" district more competitive. The Rothenberg Political Report now rates this race "Republican Favored" and The Washington Post predicts a "scramble" in the race to win the seat. Mike Bishop won the Republican nomination and Eric Schertzing won the Democratic nomination to fill Camp's seat.
Candidates
Candidates
Polling
District 9
The 9th district is located in Southeast Michigan. The incumbent is Democrat Sander Levin, who has 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 with 62% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of D+6.
As of September 30, 2013, Levin had raised $620,167.36, and has $347,066.37 cash on-hand available for a presumed re-election bid.
Republican candidate George Brikho has recently caused controversy by suggesting Adolf Hitler was a better leader than Hillary Clinton.
Candidates
Candidates
District 10
The 10th district is located an area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan known as The Thumb. The incumbent is Republican Candice Miller, who has represented the district since 2003. She was re-elected with 69% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+6.
As of September 30, 2013, Miller had raised $395,759.26, and has $995,281.27 cash on-hand available for a presumed re-election bid. Miller declined an opportunity to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Carl Levin, declaring her intention to seek re-election instead.
Candidates
Candidates
District 11
The 11th district is located northwest of Detroit. The incumbent is Republican Kerry Bentivolio, who has represented the district since 2013. He was elected in 2012, winning the general election with 51% of the vote but losing the special election to fill the final few weeks of Republican Thaddeus McCotter's term. The district has a PVI of R+4.
As of September 30, 2013, he had raised $165,479.93, and has $38,677.61 cash on-hand available for a presumed re-election bid. Foreclosure attorney David Trott, a major campaign donor for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and a close friend to Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, is challenging Bentivolio in the Republican primary. As of September 30, 2013, Trott had raised $647,719.32, and has $452,421.31 cash on-hand available for his primary challenge. First quarter, 2014 Federal Election Commission filings show Trott self-funded his campaign with over $800,000 while acquiring approximately $850,000 from donors. FEC filings by Rep. Kerry Bentivolio indicate he has raised approximately $440,000 from donors.
Robert L. McKenzie, commonly known as Bobby McKenzie, worked for the United States Department of State as Senior Advisor, was the Democratic Party nominee. Democrat Jocelyn Benson, the Dean of Wayne State University Law School, was considering running for the seat but declined to do so in the wake of the murder of a student at Wayne State University. Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson said the party will field a top caliber opponent against the Republican nominee. In the Republican primary, Trott defeated first term incumbent Bentivolio. On the Democratic side, Robert L. McKenzie won the Democratic nomination.
After his defeat, Bentivolio announced that he was running a write-in campaign. He alleged that after Trott won the primary, the Trott campaign "kept up the attacks, but they expanded it beyond me. After they won the race, they continued to beat up me, my family members, as well as my staff... I put them on notice: If they didn't stop I'm probably going to end up doing a write-in campaign. And they didn't stop." The Trott campaign has denied this, saying that "nothing like that occurred." Bentivolio does not think he will win, or even "get enough votes to keep [Trott] from getting elected... all I'm concerned about is getting people who want a voice through a protest vote to do a protest vote."
The Rothenberg Political Report has rated this race "Republican Favored."
Candidates
Polling
Candidates
Polling
District 12
The 12th district is located between Detroit's western suburbs and Ann Arbor. The incumbent is Democrat John Dingell, who has represented the district since 2013 and previously represented the 15th district from 2003 to 2013, the 16th district from 1965 to 2003 and the 15th district from 1955 to 1965. He was re-elected with 68% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of D+15.
As of September 30, 2013, he had raised $299,148.00 and had $337,402.23 cash on-hand. But after 29 terms, Dingell has decided to retire. Dingell is the longest serving congressman in United States history. This opens up a wide open race for the Democratic primary in this safe Democratic district. One candidate is the congressman's wife, Wayne State University board member Deborah Dingell. If she is elected, she will become the first person in U.S. history to succeed a living spouse in Congress. She defeated Raymond Mullins for the Democratic nomination.
Candidates
Candidates
District 13
The 13th district is located in Wayne County and includes much of the city of Detroit. The incumbent is Democrat John Conyers, who has represented the district since 2013 and previously represented the 14th district from 1993 to 2013 and the 1st district from 1965 to 1993. He was re-elected with 83% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of D+34.
As of September 30, 2013, Conyers had raised $266,996.51, and has $132,515.29 cash on-hand available for a presumed re-election bid.
The Wayne County Clerk determined that Conyers did not supply enough valid signatures to make the primary ballot. Conyers could appeal or run as a write-in candidate. While the Michigan Secretary of State confirmed the ruling, a federal judge ordered Conyers' name back on the ballot. Conyers defeated Horace Sheffield III for the Democratic nomination.
Candidates
Candidates
District 14
The 14th district stretches from eastern Detroit westward to Farmington Hills, then north to the suburbs of Auburn Hills. The incumbent is Democrat Gary Peters, who has represented the district since 2013 and previously represented the 9th district from 2009 to 2013. He was re-elected with 82% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of D+29.
Peters is not running for re-election, he is instead running for the United States Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Carl Levin in 2014.
Brenda Lawrence won the Democratic primary on August 5, 2014.
Christina Conyers was the only filed Republican candidate for the GOP primary.