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“Mid-Michiganders know they can count on Dan Kildee to serve their district with one mission in mind: delivering results for the community he calls home. And in Congress, that’s exactly what he’s done, by working to lower costs and introducing legislation to cap the cost of insulin at $35, protecting clean water and the Great Lakes, and helping bring more good-paying jobs to his district. Dan works with anyone to get the job done, and it’s why he continuously outperforms the top of the ticket and will be re-elected again in November.” said DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Matt Corridoni
Date: August 2, 2022
Subject: The Case Against Paul Junge
Tonight’s primary sets up a clear choice between Congressman Dan Kildee, a lifelong mid-Michigander and son of Flint with a clear record of results and delivering for the communities he loves, and an out-of-towner opponent who’s running to serve Washington party leaders, not Michigan’s 8th Congressional District.
Since being elected to represent mid-Michigan in Congress, Dan Kildee has always put politics aside and put mid-Michigan first. Kildee has worked across the aisle to ensure clean drinking water and replace lead pipes, clean up toxic PFAS forever chemicals in Michiganders’ water, and protect the Great Lakes. He also made bolstering mid-Michigan’s local economy a priority by cracking down on unfair trade with China and ensuring local companies can expand and create good-paying jobs.
And in the face of disaster, from catastrophic floods to a clean water crisis threatening the safety of his constituents, Congressman Kildee always springs into action to deliver results. When two dams failed and flooded Midland County, Kildee ensured his constituents got the help they needed to recover and rebuild.
Now, as Michigan families are facing rising costs and struggling to make ends meet, Kildee is working overtime to make life more affordable for Michiganders. He’s fighting to bring down prescription drug costs. Kildee wrote the bill to cap insulin prices at $35 a month, and he supports allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors. Kildee is also working to lower prices at the pump by suspending the federal gas tax to give consumers a break and cracking down on big oil price gouging.
Given Kildee’s dedicated leadership, it’s no wonder National Republicans had trouble recruiting someone to run against him. After losing out on multiple potential recruits, Republicans were forced to settle with carpetbagger Paul Junge, who has no ties to the district and no base of support.
Already, Junge is running a campaign more focused on delivering for Washington party leaders than on the issues that matter to mid-Michigan. And it’s no surprise Junge isn’t focused on the people he wants to represent – he lived outside the state for 40 years, bouncing between jobs while living off a trust fund from his parents. Two years ago, Junge tried to buy a different seat in Congress and lost, and now – without previously ever living in the district – is trying to do the same here. Mid-Michigan can’t count on Junge, who cuts and runs from one failure to the next and is only worried about himself and putting partisan politics above results.
JUNGE IS A THREAT TO MICHIGAN WOMEN’S FREEDOM AND FAMILIES’ SAFETY
The Supreme Court’s dangerous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has raised the stakes for Michigan women, but Paul Junge, who has described himself as pro-life “at all times” and said Roe created “made-up rights,” has made clear he stands in lockstep with his party’s extremist anti-choice agenda. Junge wants to outlaw abortion even in cases of rape and incest, and supported the Supreme Court stripping women of their fundamental right to make reproductive health care decisions.
Junge is also endorsed by the powerful gun lobby, which opposes universal background checks and wants to allow domestic abusers to buy guns. Junge also opposed red flag laws, which would keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and the dangerously mentally ill before they cause harm to themselves or others.
JUNGE IS A RUBBER STAMP FOR MAGA AGENDA TO GUT HEALTH CARE, SOCIAL SECURITY
Junge has made it clear he’d join forces with MAGA Republicans in Washington to enact their harmful agenda that would decimate Michiganders’ health care and hard-earned retirement benefits. Junge would join his Washington party bosses to gut health care for 720,000 Michiganders, end protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and allow insurance companies to charge seniors five times more for coverage.
A multimillionaire himself, Junge supports giving a tax break to himself and the country’s wealthiest while passing on the cost to Michigan seniors, threatening funding for their Social Security and Medicare and adding $2 trillion to our national debt.
A CARPETBAGGER SHOPPING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Junge may be running for Congress in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, but nothing about his record shows he understands the needs of the district. Junge is renting an apartment in the district to run for this seat after losing in a different district in 2020. And just like last cycle, he’ll have to explain the fact that he’s spent the vast majority of his life outside of Michigan, and not rooted in the community he hopes to represent.
His job history also paints the picture of a dilettante who has flitted from job to job without much success at any of them, while falling back on his family’s wealth. 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, 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.
Junge’s background of dashing from state to state, shuffling through professions, while falling back on his trust fund is a far cry from the hard work mid-Michiganders put in to make ends meet and another reminder that he’s not in touch with the industrial district he’s running to represent.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
MLive: U.S. House passes Kildee bill to cap monthly cost of insulin at $35 [MLive, 4/1/22]
Iosco County News Herald: New bill aims to ensure health care for veterans exposed to PFAS [Iosco County News Herald, 3/22/22]
Midland Daily News: Congressman outlines efforts to fund local community police [Midland Daily News, 2/23/22]
MLive: $750K in funding toward community health efforts secured, Kildee announces [MLive, 6/28/22]
WNEM: Local health centers receive nearly $3M in grants [WNEM, 5/23/22]
WNEM: Legislation introduced to restore tax credit for retirees [WNEM, 6/18/22]
The Detroit News: Michigan Rep. Kildee leads group seeking tax break for auto dealers facing supply troubles [The Detroit News, 4/29/22]
WNEM: Kildee highlights federal funds to help veterans, homeowners in Bay City [WNEM, 4/21/22]
NBC News 5: Congressman Dan Kildee announce new bipartisan legislation to help reduce lead exposure [NBC News 5, 4/13/22]
PATH TO VICTORY
Although this district got slightly more competitive after redistricting, it retains key Democratic-leaning populations in Flint and Saginaw. Michigan’s newly reconfigured 8th Congressional District has supported Democrats in every House, Senate and presidential election since 2014 – and this year will be no different.
In the 2020 election, Dan Kildee outperformed President Biden by more than 8 points – the strongest performance of any other Democrat on the ticket. Already, he’s built a strong campaign that will propel him to victory in November, raising more than $3.3 million to date. Kildee has received grassroots support from Genesee, Saginaw, Bay and Midland County voters and support from organizations across the district, including Michigan AFL-CIO and the Michigan Farm Bureau. |
