“Rep. Elissa Slotkin knows that country – and her constituents – come before political party, no matter what. She’s taken that belief to heart, delivering for her district on important issues, like bringing the supply chain back to America and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. That’s why Michiganders will reelect her in November.” – DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos
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To: Interested Parties
From: Courtney Rice, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 5, 2020
Subject: The Case Against Paul Junge
Rep. Elissa Slotkin has spent her career putting service to country over partisan politics, first through her three tours in Iraq with the CIA and then as a national security expert for both Democratic and Republican administrations. Now, in Congress, she’s using that same approach, working across the aisle to increase access to affordable health care, lower the cost of prescription drugs, get harmful PFAS chemicals out of Michigan’s water, and ensure that PPE and prescription drugs are made here in America and not China.
It’s no wonder that Republicans “swung and missed” in recruiting a credible candidate to challenge her. In the end, they got Paul Junge – a recent Michigan resident with a second-rate resume who has actively spread misinformation on COVID-19.
This Republican recruitment failure coupled with Slotkin’s massive cash-on-hand advantage – 11-to-1 – and her laser focus on issues that matter to her district leave this seat out of reach for a Republican pick up.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
HEADLINE: Medicare patients could see drug costs lowered by Slotkin bill that passes U.S. House [Detroit Free Press, 10/29/19]
HEADLINE: Rep. Slotkin introduces legislation to help U.S. manufacturers produce critical medical supplies [Oakland Press, 04/10/20]
HEADLINE: After passing PFAS monitoring act into law, Slotkin advocates for small community testing funds [Livingston Post, 03/10/20]
“Republicans swung and missed when it came to recruiting a top-tier candidate to run in Ingham County’s 8th Congressional District, leaving those leaning the GOP’s way a choice among four lightly funded political neophytes.” [Lansing City Pulse, 07/11/20]
“The former CIA analyst has shined in nearly every aspect of the job — policy knowledge, public engagement, competency and fundraising.” [Lansing City Pulse, 07/11/20]
“U.S. Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) [… has] millions more in the bank than any of [her] would-be GOP challengers. Slotkin posted about $5 million as of July 15 and Stevens had about $4 million on hand, according to reports filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).” [Michigan Advance, 07/24/20]
Carpetbagger Who Has Failed At Every Job He’s Ever Had, Now Running As Republicans’ Least Bad Option For Congress
MOVED BACK TO MICHIGAN TO RUN FOR OFFICE AFTER FLITTING FROM JOB TO JOB
Paul Junge has only spent ten years of his life in Michigan compared to 43 years outside of the state he now hopes to represent. But that hasn’t stopped him from trying to mislead voters about his Michigan roots. His campaign fundraising page falsely claims that he was “raised… in Michigan,” despite his family moving to California when he was 8 years old and attending high school, college, and law school there. In fact, Junge only lived in Michigan for one year between 1974 and 2019.
It’s clear from Junge’s job history that he has used his family’s wealth as an excuse to flit from job to job without performing particularly well at any of them. One of Junge’s first jobs was for a politician in San Diego, which he started after his father contributed $2,000 to the campaign. After a failed stint as a Deputy District Attorney in California (more on that below), Junge worked at the California Chamber of Commerce, a group that opposed the bill creating California’s Affordable Care Act exchange, and also spent stints at the Oakland, California Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the St. Mary’s County, Maryland Chamber of Commerce.
A FAILED LAWYER WHO ENDANGERED VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE
While Junge was the Deputy District Attorney of Ventura County, California in the mid-1990s, he severely bungled a domestic violence case. After being assigned as a prosecutor in a case against someone charged with spousal battery, Junge “‘barged into a defense attorney’s office to subpoena’ a witness… The judge declared a mistrial when he learned what happened and the District Attorney’s Office ended up having to apologize to the Public Defender’s Office about the incident.” According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, Junge’s “highly inappropriate” actions resulted in a mistrial and the near dismissal of domestic violence charges against the defendant. Junge left his post a year later.
SPREADING MISINFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19
Junge would rather appease President Trump than protect Michiganders when it comes to spreading accurate information on COVID-19, despite Michigan being one of the hardest hit states by the pandemic. During a primary campaign event, Junge hosted a Republican National Committeeman with no expertise in infectious diseases for a “COVID Q&A Happy Hour” discussion, where the guest spread multiple falsehoods about the virus. While discussing reopening, Junge’s guest stated that “testing is no more important for reopening the economy than it would be in a bad flu season … it’s nonsensical.”
This view goes against multiple experts, including the president’s Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has emphasized the need for more widespread testing before easing stay-at-home orders.
Junge’s guest also misleadingly suggested that COVID-19 was no more serious than the seasonal flu (it is more serious), incorrectly stated that hospitals were inflating the number of COVID-19 deaths in order to “get a higher payment” (they’re not), and falsely said that the United States had not seen an increase in overall deaths during the crisis (we have been).
While Junge uses his public platform to spread misinformation on COVID-19, Rep. Slotkin’s response to the pandemic couldn’t be more different. She’s used her national security expertise to fight for adequate PPE for Michigan’s hospitals and frontline workers, has spearheaded the initiative to have future PPE and medicine made in America, and has helped small businesses navigate through the red tape to get the lifesaving loans they need to stay afloat during the economic downturn.
PATH TO VICTORY
Michigan’s 8th Congressional District spans from Lansing to the northwestern Detroit exurbs and it is a sparse suburban district. It is home to the main campus of Michigan State University. In 2018, Rep. Slotkin earned 52% of the major party vote, beating two-term incumbent Republican Mike Bishop by 3.8 points. Slotkin outpaced Senator Stabenow in the district by 1.8 points.
Slotkin sits on a massive cash on hand advantage against Junge: 11-to-1 or $5,040,283.62 to $445,852.34, and it will be nearly impossible for Junge to catch up. Slotkin’s incredible fundraising advantage, the inability of Republicans to put forth a credible challenger, and her record of putting country and district over party to focus on issues like lowering the cost of prescription drugs and ensuring that PPE is made in America mean she’s headed for reelection in November.
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