McDonald Rivet to face Junge in race to replace Kildee in Congress

GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Republican Paul Junge will face Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet in the November election to replace Dan Kildee in Congress, according to projections by The Associated Press.

Junge and McDonald Rivet each outperformed two primary opponents in the primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 6, winning the right to represent their parties in the November general election, according to the projection based on initial unofficial returns.

Junge is a former prosecutor who worked in the Trump administration at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. McDonald Rivet is a state senator from Bay City who previously served as executive director of the Michigan Head Start Association.

The AP reported as of 12:49 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, that Junge had won nearly three of every four GOP votes cast with 43% of the vote in. McDonald Rivet had won nearly 55% of the vote as of the same time with 46% of the vote in.

Junge was competing with Republicans Mary Draves and Anthony J. Hudson. McDonald Rivet was running against Democrats Matt Collier and Pamela Pugh.

Kildee, a Flint Township Democrat, announced late last year that he wouldn’t seek re-election, clearing the way for other candidates to compete in what’s expected to be a fiercely competitive general election.

The congressman was diagnosed in 2023 with squamous cell carcinoma, a serious but curable form of cancer.

Also: Kildee won’t seek re-election to Congress, says cancer gave him new perspective

After surgery to remove a small tumor in one of his tonsils, Kildee emerged cancer-free but said he had a new perspective on his priorities moving forward.

This year’s election marks the first time since 1962 that there won’t be a member of the Kildee family running for Congress in the Flint area.