“Democrats See an Opportunity” in the District
Democrats are going on offense in districts across the country and Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District is just the latest example. With Congressman Amash’s announcement of a potential presidential run, this race becomes much more competitive with polling from the DCCC conducted in late February showing a Democrat leading a generic Republican.
Statement from DCCC Spokesperson Courtney Rice:
“Come November, Republicans across the country will be forced to answer for their disastrous agenda of prioritizing big corporations over working families and gutting access to health care – even during a pandemic. Whoever makes it out of the Republican primary in the 3rd District will be no exception.”
Read more from National Journal:
Rep. Justin Amash’s decision to forgo reelection to seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination for president opens up a competitive seat that both parties have targeted since he left the Republican Party last summer.
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[A] Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee internal poll shared exclusively with National Journal showed Democrats with a slight advantage over Republicans in the district. […]The poll, conducted Feb. 24-25 among 405 likely general-election voters, found that a generic Democratic candidate has a 2-point advantage (47 to 45 percent) over a generic Republican candidate.
With Amash—and his healthy name recognition in the district—no longer a factor, Democrats see an opportunity.
“Democrats are going on offense in districts across the country and Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District will be no exception,” DCCC spokesperson Courtney Rice said. “Republicans in this district will be up against their party’s record of prioritizing the needs of special interests and stripping health care from hardworking Americans—even during a global pandemic.”
“Nothing in our messaging changes,” Hillary Scholten, the likely Democratic nominee, said in a phone interview Wednesday. She… pointed out that her potential Republican opponents are running closely with the president. She thinks she could tap into the same independent streak Amash enjoyed while in office.
“I won’t be afraid to chart my own independent course when it’s called for,” she said. “We’re offering something new here. I’m not a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat.”
National Democrats argue that the Grand Rapids area district shares some of the same characteristics of the suburban districts that delivered them the majority in the House two years ago. They point out that 30 percent of residents over age 25 are college-educated, a demographic that has voted increasingly for Democrats in recent cycles, and predict that Joe Biden will invest in the state in his battle against Trump.
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