While GOP Rep. Fred Upton downplayed rumors last year that he could retire rather than seek an 18th term in Michigan’s competitive 6th District, he acknowledged this week that he still hasn’t decided if he’d run again.
In a Tuesday appearance on the local radio program WHTC Morning News (the relevant portion begins at the 8:02 mark), Upton was asked if he’d seek re-election and responded, “We’re evaluating all those criteria, it’s a discussion we’re having as a family for sure … we’ve not made the decision quite yet as to what we’ll do.” Upton went on to say that he would make his choice “in the next couple of weeks for sure.”
We may not want to hold the congressman to that timeline, though. Back in late August Upton said he would make up his mind “in the upcoming couple of months,” but we’re still awaiting his answer. However, while Michigan’s April filing deadline is still a while away, Upton would be badly hurting his party if he waited anywhere near that long only to retire.
Upton’s southwestern Michigan seat, which includes the Kalamazoo area, moved from 50-49 Romney to 51-43 Trump, but this turf wasn’t as friendly to the GOP last cycle. According to Bloomberg’s Greg Giroux, Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Schuette edged Democrat Gretchen Whitmer 48.4-48.2 as he was badly losing statewide, while Republican John James defeated Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow 50-47 here. Upton himself only won re-election 50-46 in 2018, which was the first time he failed to win a general election by double digits during his entire congressional career.
Democrats are making a serious effort to target this seat regardless of what Upton does. State Rep. Jon Hoadley has been running since the spring, and he’s raised a credible amount of money through the end of September. If Hoadley won, he would be Michigan’s first gay member of Congress.
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