Michigan Dem Scholten wins US House race over Trump loyalist
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Democrat Hillary Scholten on Tuesday won a congressional seat being vacated by a Michigan Republican who voted to impeach Donald Trump.
Scholten defeated John Gibbs, who ousted first-term Rep. Peter Meijer in the August GOP primary. Gibbs had criticized Meijer for being one of 10 House Republicans to support impeachment of the former president after last year’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Scholten is an immigration attorney whose prospects improved after an independent panel redrew Michigan’s House district map following the 2020 census. Her district is anchored by Grand Rapids, the state’s second-largest city, which hasn’t had a Democratic representative since the mid-1970s. Among new additions are Democratic-leaning Muskegon.
Gibbs, who held several positions in the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Trump and won his endorsement, described himself as staunchly conservative, opposing abortion rights and favoring a border wall.