“Michiganders have a choice in this race between an empty suit from outside the district backed by special interests and career politicians, versus a special victims prosecutor and working mom of three who fights every day to keep her community safe. Mike Bouchard Junior represents more of the same broken Washington: failed political insiders, trying to prop up one of their own, who won’t stand up for Michigan. As a SVU prosecutor who put child predators and rapists behind bars, Christina Hines is tough as nails and the fighter Michigan deserves. Voters know Christina will stand up to lower costs, combat corruption, and bring new leadership to Washington,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Katie Smith, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 4, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Mike Bouchard Junior
Michigan’s 10th Congressional District is home to the heart of the auto industry and a historic Michigan manufacturing powerhouse. This working-class district built this country and put the world on wheels – but has suffered blow after blow thanks to the Trump administration’s reckless trade policy as costs rise across the board and working families fall further behind. House Republicans failed, and Macomb County pays the price.
That’s why this district provides Democrats with one of the top flip opportunities anywhere in the country: a choice between a political insider backed by the special interests, and a SVU prosecutor and hardworking Macomb County mother of three who will take on Washington corruption to get results.
Mike Bouchard Junior is an empty suit who won’t stand up for Michigan. He will be a reliable vote for every extreme Washington policy making Michiganders’ lives more expensive. He doesn’t understand what Macomb County families are going through, because he’s not from here. He can’t even run a campaign without his daddy’s help – his buddies and wealthy political allies schemed to hand him the nomination for this seat, and his candidacy is bankrolled by thousands of dollars in insider cash. Bouchard Junior represents a continuation of everything wrong with Washington.
As a special victims prosecutor who took on the worst of the worst to put criminals behind bars, Michiganders can trust Christina Hines to stand up for them. A mom of three raising a family in her hometown of Warren, Christina lives the struggles families are experiencing. She’ll fight tooth and nail to make life less expensive, protect Michigan families, and stand against corruption to shake up Washington. In a political environment defined by voters rejecting the Washington corruption Bouchard Junior exemplifies, this open seat is primed to elect Christina this November.
Meet Nepo Baby Mike Bouchard Junior: Insider’s Insider With Career Politicians Pulling the Strings
Bouchard Junior is an insider tied to the political establishment trying to buy him a seat in Congress. Junior worked at a lobbying firm that advocated for Big Pharma, health insurers that raised prices on Michiganders, and a foreign auto company that has undercut Michigan jobs. The founder of that firm then turned around and contributed to Bouchard Junior’s campaign and advised a pro-Bouchard Junior super PAC – another example of the same kind of insider, revolving door politics Michiganders hate. In Congress, Bouchard Junior would just be more of the same: a Washington sellout indebted to the special interests and political allies trying to install them. Not someone who works for Michigan.
Bouchard Junior is a nepo baby who can’t even run for Congress without his daddy’s help. His father, also named Michael Bouchard, has been pulling the strings on Bouchard Junior’s run since before his son even got in the race. Bouchard Senior started a Super PAC dedicated to getting his son into the race, played attack dog against his son’s political opponents, and worked behind the scenes to steer cash towards Junior’s campaign.
Junior’s campaign is bankrolled by all the same party insiders and special interest allies who hope to send one of their lackeys to Washington. “More than half” of the cash flowing to Junior’s campaign and the PAC backing him came from prior donors to his dad. As questions swirl about Bouchard Senior controlling Junior’s campaign, photo evidence shows Junior campaigning at an event where Bouchard Senior was doing official work as sheriff. Bottom line: they know that when push comes to shove, Bouchard Junior will do their bidding even if that hurts Michigan.
Christina Hines does not have her parents or lobbyists micromanaging her campaign. She is a mom and a special victims prosecutor, born and raised in the district where she’s now raising her family. She will be the new, fresh voice in Washington needed to get things done for Michigan families. Christina will fight back against inside dealing and corruption by Washington politicians, working to ban stock trading in Congress, get dark money out of politics, and get our government working for Michiganders again.
Mike Bouchard Junior Won’t Work for Michigan – He Backs Every D.C. Policy Making Life More Expensive
Bouchard Junior told Michiganders in his own words that he won’t stand up for them. Bouchard Junior “couldn’t name any areas where he disagreed with Donald Trump,” despite Trump’s agenda raising costs on Michiganders. That tells you all you need to know; even when Washington hurts Michigan, Bouchard Junior will fall in line. Whether it’s his support for the Big, Ugly Bill ripping away health care and making the cost of care more expensive while draining the Social Security trust fund faster, the reckless tariffs threatening auto jobs and raising prices, or the forever war in Iran causing gas prices to climb – Bouchard Junior supports it all, including giving handouts to billionaires instead of tax relief for working families.
Bouchard Junior will go after Michiganders’ health care. He opposes health care tax credits and is a threat to the Affordable Care Act, saying “we need to reform it.” Now, 34,000 Michigan families in the 10th District are paying more for their health care, and over 130,000 Michiganders have dropped off all together because of the Bouchard Junior-backed agenda. Even worse, his scheme to threaten the Affordable Care Act would threaten protections for preexisting conditions for 1.8 million Michiganders.
Bouchard Junior backs the Iran War that is forcing Michigan families to pay more at the pump. He called the war necessary even after it caused Michigan gas prices to skyrocket – he’d be a reliable vote to keep the war going.
Solidifying just how out of touch he is with Macomb workers, Bouchard Junior supports the reckless tariffs and chaotic trade policy wrecking havoc on Michigan. Rooted in Macomb County with a strong auto industry and just a stone’s throw from Canada, the 10th District is strongly impacted by the reckless tariffs that plunged the economy into chaos. Nearly 80,000 10th District residents are employed in manufacturing, including auto workers whose jobs are threatened as Michigan automakers lose billions. Michigan businesses are also the third hardest hit in the nation by the tariffs that Bouchard Junior supports. These tariffs are a tax on families and are raising costs, threatening small businesses, and making it harder for regular families to get by. Yet Bouchard Junior repeatedly defended them, despite their disastrous impact on Michigan. When Trump and billionaires threatened another economic lifeline for Michigan with their threats to block the Gordie Howe Bridge, Bouchard Junior stayed silent and took thousands of dollars from the billionaire trying to shut it down. It’s more proof that Bouchard Junior will not do what’s right for Michiganders: he’ll do what’s right for his political allies and the people who cut him campaign checks.
There’s a pattern here: Bouchard Junior is a political insider propped up by special interest backing who works against Michigan. Christina Hines understands what families are going through. She is a working mom from a middle class family whose parents were forced to make difficult decisions to afford health care when her mom got sick. Christina and her husband are raising their own children and are facing the same challenges that so many families in Macomb County face. Christina will stand up to both parties to do what’s right for Michigan: fight for better and affordable health care, lower costs on groceries and gas, and help parents build a better life for their kids.
A Birmingham Carpetbagger Who Won’t Fight for Macomb County
Bouchard Junior isn’t from Michigan’s 10th district – he’s from Birmingham – and his dad and political allies are trying to install him into power. Macomb County deserves a fighter who has their backs and will stand up to the rigged economy, but that’s not Bouchard Junior, and even Republicans know it. Bouchard Junior got booed aggressively in front of a crowd of in-district Republicans, who know he doesn’t understand Macomb County.
With deep roots in Macomb County, Christina Hines will be a fighter for families like her own. Christina believes it’s time to put working families first and make sure that the American Dream is within reach for everyone willing to work hard. Christina has spent her career putting criminals behind bars. She gets what families are going through and has worked to keep them safe – and she’ll keep putting families like hers first to protect our kids, make life more affordable, and take on the corruption in Washington driving up prices.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Detroit Metro Times: GOP Congressional candidate Michael Bouchard’s political roots run through a Lansing lobbying firm [Detroit Metro Times, 6/26/26]
Republican congressional candidate Michael Bouchard once worked for a Lansing lobbying firm run by a longtime political ally and former staffer for his father, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, records reviewed by Metro Times show.
Capitol Affairs has represented pharmaceutical and health insurance interests at a time when prescription drug prices and health care costs have climbed for Michigan families and small businesses. The firm also lobbied for a German auto supplier that later opened its first U.S. factory in Ohio, not Michigan, where domestic auto jobs remain central to the economy and have been declining for decades.
Detroit News: GOP’s Bouchard leans on dad’s donors in key Macomb Co. U.S. House race [Detroit News, 5/12/26]
More than half of the traceable money flowing to Bouchard’s campaign and an outside group backing him has come from prior donors to his dad, the longtime Oakland County sheriff who shares a name with his 32-year-old son.
American Journal News: House GOP candidates stay silent on releasing Epstein files [American Journal News, 11/20/25]
Detroit News: Michigan Democrats see path to majority after GOP cuts. Republicans plan defense [Detroit News, 7/13/25]
The New Republic: Trump Tirade Over Bridge to Canada Backfires, Handing Dems 2026 Weapon [The New Republic, 2/11/26]
One Democratic candidate for this seat—former prosecutor Christina Hines—says Trump’s threat will resonate badly with the district’s blue-collar workers.
“This would threaten a lot of good-paying jobs across southeast Michigan, and raise costs for all the working families here,” Hines, who has family members in the auto industry, told me. She noted that manufacturing and defense, big local industries, are already struggling with Trump’s tariffs: “Delaying this bridge is another move that would raise prices and hurt the local economy.”
Michigan Advance: Barrett’s seat a top target to flip in 2026, James’ gubernatorial bid opens opportunity [Michigan Advance, 11/25/25]
Meanwhile in the 10th Congressional District, John James’ decision to run for governor and leave his seat open — a decision that was criticized by some in his party, as it leaves a potentially flippable seat without a Republican incumbent.
The New Republic: Trump’s Fury at Canada Backfires in Surprise Blow to GOP’s 2026 Hopes [The New Republic, 2/28/26]
Democratic efforts to flip the 10th congressional district illustrate the problem that Trump’s abusiveness toward Canada poses for Republicans. It straddles parts of Macomb County—home to the fabled Reagan Democrat and the seat of a lot of industry—and its economy is heavily interdependent with Canada’s.
Detroit News: ‘Trump Democrats’ turf up for grabs as 3 chase open Macomb House seat [Detroit News, 7/24/26]
Hines pitches herself as ‘the Macomb County candidate’
Hines, 36, is a former special victims prosecutor in Wayne County, where she worked the sexual assault cases of children and adults. She went on to become an assistant prosecutor in Washtenaw County, also working on sexual assault.
“Everything comes back to our slogan, which is that I’m a special victims prosecutor and a mom on a mission to lower costs, protect families and defend democracy,” Hines said of her campaign.
“Folks in Macomb County do not care whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. They want somebody that’s going to work for them,” Hines said.
Detroit Free Press: Christina Hines enters race to represent Macomb County’s 10th Congressional District [Detroit Free Press, 4/7/25]
A Macomb County native and career prosecutor, Hines has worked for the Wayne and Washtenaw counties’ prosecutor’s offices and has handled sexual assault, child abuse and human trafficking cases, according to a news release from her campaign.
“First, I’m a woman of God. I’m a wife and a mom and I’m an attorney who fights for justice every single day for everyday people,” [Christina] said. Her kids, she said, in large part motivated her campaign. “Because when I look at all of our kids today, I am genuinely worried that they are growing up without the same safety and rights and freedom that I was able to have growing up.”
PATH TO VICTORY
In the 2022 midterm election cycle, this race was an open seat won by just 1,600 votes. This race will be another close fight – and one that Christina Hines is poised to win thanks to her background putting criminals behind bars, her deep roots in Macomb County, and her mission of bringing fresh new leadership to Washington.
Michigan’s 10th District is historically more favorable to Democrats in a midterm environment, and Christina has the background and biography to drive up Democratic turnout and base support while winning back Independents. The path to victory requires winning in swing Macomb County, home to nearly 90% of the district’s registered voters – and as the only candidate from Macomb County with deep roots in the community, Christina is in a strong position to win in Southern Macomb and hold Republicans to tight margins elsewhere.
Michiganders are in desperate need of new leadership in Washington – and Christina is the candidate whose background, mission, and deep connections to this district will flip this seat. |
