In the 2nd Congressional District, GOP Rep. John Moolenaar is seeking his sixth term in Congress against Democratic challenger Michael Lynch, a professor and hospitality manager from Alma.
The hatchet-shaped district covers the Lake Michigan coast from Whitehall to Manistee, stretches east to Cadillac, Clare and Mt. Pleasant, and runs southeast of Grand Rapids to include Harrison and Ionia.
Moolenaar defeated his 2022 Democratic opponent by nearly 30 points, and the district is likely to remain Republican.
Moolenaar has served in congress since 2015, previously representing a mid-Michigan district that stretched from Cadillac to West Branch.
“I’ve been working hard to make sure we win this competition for America’s future,” Moolenaar said.
Lynch is a manager with the Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, and has worked with government tourism programs around the world.
“I just thought that now is the time for me to step up and serve my community,” he said.
Lynch says he would work to support entrepreneurial efforts in the district, as well as giving tax incentives to first-time homebuyers.
“I support the notion of offering tax incentives to new businesses to get them off the ground,” Lynch said. “Small business is where most of the growth is in this country.”
Moolenaar says he would vote to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and believes that deregulation would help lower costs.
“I would support tax incentives that would help builders create housing, affordable housing, for people throughout Michigan,” he said. “But more importantly, I think we need to look at these regulations that are driving up the costs for people who are building homes.”
On abortion, Moolenaar says that the government should provide greater support for pregnancy centers.
“To me, that’s a win-win situation, supporting women and also recognizing the value of innocent human life,” he said.
Moolenaar did not share how he would vote on federal abortion restrictions, but says that he’s pro-life and that Trump would not sign a national abortion ban.
Lynch says he supports abortion access and that restrictions on the procedure could hurt rural areas especially.
“We need to expand the availability of healthcare. We need to make sure that it’s affordable,” he said. “I see reproductive care as as healthcare, and it’s something that’s very, very necessary, and it saves women’s lives.”