When Republican Dan Benishek first ran to represent Michigan's 1st congressional district in the 2010 elections, he pledged to serve no more than three terms. In March 2015, he decided to run for a fourth term as the district's representative.[3] However, he changed his mind in September and decided not to seek re-election.[4]
On June 24, Michigan Democratic Party chairman Lon Johnson declared his run for the seat.[5] Former Democratic nominee Jerry Cannon also announced his candidacy.[6] Republican state senator Tom Casperson announced his run in November 2015.[7] Casperson was challenged in the Republican primary by former state legislator Jason Allen, who announced he was running in January 2016,[8] and retired U.S. Marine Jack Bergman, who declared in March.[9] In January 2016, Benishek endorsed Casperson's candidacy.[10]
In the August 2 primary, Jack Bergman won the GOP nomination and Lon Johnson won the Democratic nomination.[11]
Republican incumbent Rep. Bill Huizenga ran for re-election. His Democratic opponent was Dennis Murphy, and his Libertarian opponent was Kentwood City Commissioner Erwin Haas.[18][28][29]
Republican incumbent Rep. John Moolenaar ran for re-election. His Libertarian opponent was Leonard Schwartz. Keith Butkovich was the candidate for the Natural Law Party, George Zimmer for the U.S. Taxpayers Party and George Salvi for the Green Party.[18] There was no Democratic opponent on the August primary ballot, but Debra Wirth launched a successful write-in campaign to be the Democratic nominee for the November election.
The 7th district is located in Southern Michigan. The incumbent was Republican Tim Walberg, who had represented the district since 2011 and previously represented the district from 2007 to 2009. He was re-elected with 53% of the vote in 2014, and the district has a PVI of R+3. Walberg was challenged by Doug North.[32] Democratic state representative Gretchen Driskell, the former mayor of Saline, announced that she would run against Walberg in 2016,[33] as would Libertarian Ken Proctor.[18] Walberg won the Republican nomination.[34]
Gilbert withdrew from the race in May 2016 due to health issues, and at that time Keefe did not appear to have collected enough valid petition signatures to be placed on the ballot.[39]
On July 6, 2016, Democrats introduced 29-year-old Suzanna Shkreli, an Assistant Macomb County Prosecutor to be the party's nominee.[40] At the time of Shkreli's announcement, it was still unclear if Michigan Secretary of StateRuth Johnson would allow Gilbert to be removed from the ballot. Johnson said that the Office of the Secretary of State would not make a ruling until after the state's August 2 primary.[41] Gilbert's name remained on the ballot.
On August 2, Gilbert received the most votes in the Democratic primary, receiving 28,810 votes, despite previously announcing her withdrawal from the race. Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Brandon Dillon said the day after that the party would begin the process to remove Gilbert from the November ballot and replace her with Shkreli within 48 hours.[42] Bishop's campaign described Gilbert's attempt to be removed from the ballot as unprecedented. A Democratic campaign spokesman said they had retained legal counsel for the process.[42]
The Michigan state elections director said that Gilbert's name could be removed from the ballot in the general election.[43] On August 22, 2016, the state board of canvassers allowed Gilbert's name to be replaced on the November ballot with that of Shkreli.[44]
Democratic incumbent Rep. Sander Levin ran for re-election. His Republican challenger was Christopher Morse, and his Libertarian opponent was Matt Orlando.[17][29][18]
Republican incumbent Candice Miller, who had represented the 10th district since 2003, did not run for reelection.[47] State representative Tony Forlini,[48]State SenatorPhil Pavlov, businessman Paul Mitchell, former state senator Alan Sanborn, and retired military veteran David VanAssche were seeking the Republican nomination to succeed Miller.[49] State Senator Jack Brandenburg considered entering the race, but declared in January 2016 that he would not run.[50][51] Paul Mitchell won the Republican nomination.[34]
The 11th district is located northwest of Detroit. The incumbent was Republican Dave Trott, who had represented the district since 2015. He was elected in 2014, winning the general election with 55.9% of the vote. He ran for re-election. Anil Kumar was his Democratic opponent, and Jonathan Osment was his Libertarian opponent.[17][18]Kerry Bentivolio, who represented the 11th District from 2013 to 2015 and lost to Trott in the 2014 Republican primary, announced on July 21, 2016, that he planned to seek the seat as an independent after losing to Osment in the Libertarian convention.[54]
Democratic first term congresswoman Debbie Dingell ran for re-election and was unopposed in the primary. Jeff Jones was the Republican challenger, a Taylor resident, a former independent United States Senate candidate in 2014.[55] Also running was Tom Bagwell of Wyandotte, libertarian activist and former Ypsilanti Township Park Commissioner who won the Libertarian Party nomination for District 12 on May 14, 2016, in Lansing, Michigan.[56]
John Conyers, a Democrat, the incumbent representative in the 13th district, had served 26 terms in Congress and was the Dean of the United States House of Representatives. Detroit and City Clerk Janice Winfrey ran against Conyers in the Democratic Party primary election.[58] Jeff Gorman ran on the Republican side, and Tiffany Hayden ran on the Libertarian side.[17][29][18] Conyers won the nomination.[59]
Democratic incumbent Rep. Brenda Lawrence sought re-election and had two Democratic challengers, Terrance Morrison and Vanessa Moss. Lawrence won the Democratic nomination.[60] The Republican candidate was Howard Klausner and the Libertarian candidate was Gregory Creswell.[29][18]
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