GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The race for Michigan’s third congressional district is one of West Michigan's most closely watched races. It’s the district that includes parts of Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties.
In 2022, Congresswoman Hillary Scholten became the first Democrat to represent the area since the mid-1970s.
Now she faces Republican attorney Paul Hudson, who's hoping to flip the district back to red.
FOX 17 recently spent a few hours with each candidate while they were out on the campaign trail, bringing their message straight to voters one conversation at a time.
On the trail, Scholten is working to meet Michiganders face-to-face. Her team hopes the door knocking will move the needle come Election Day. Conversations range from inflation to health care, an eye-opening window into what's important to voters.
Back at her campaign headquarters, volunteers and staff work through the call lists. The district has been represented by three different representatives in three terms.
Now, the congresswoman hopes to change that pattern by winning her re-election.
“West Michigan deserves a representative that can get some traction, that can build up some longevity, and that can, you know, really work to get some long-term agenda items done,” Scholten told FOX 17.
She says her policies are about solutions for infrastructure, the cost of living and healthcare.
“We've been able to return over $100 million to the district in grants and refunds like tax, social security and veterans benefits to constituents and local municipalities in the district," she says. “I’ve co-sponsored over 200 bipartisan bills. We've seen one of my most crowning achievement, bill transparency in how we designate air traffic control tower replacements get signed into law, and we're working to put the teeth to that in getting our air traffic control tower replaced here in GR. We've gotten major investments in the Muskegon Airport, $20 million looking to see that come to fruition, and also we got our essential air service provider changed in the Muskegon airport as well."
Long term, she wants a multi-governmental approach of bipartisanship.
Just weeks till the election, a temperature check was taken.
“When we were knocking on the doors earlier today, from health care to housing to the cost of just getting around, whether it's gas in the tank or public transportation... You know, people are feeling like they don't have enough to even get by, let alone get ahead.”
And she knows just how much work there is to do before Nov. 5.
“Michigan is a battleground. Make no mistake. We saw in 2016 what happened when we thought we've got this all wrapped up, right? And Michigan is set, and we lost the state by 10,000 votes. I think that demonstrated how, you know, races, especially these statewide races, can be won or lost by a handful of votes. It's going to be incredibly competitive.”
We also caught up with Paul Hudson. We will be sharing a look at his time on the campaign trail as well.
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