A national committee has selected a Democrat running for Michigan’s 4th Congressional District for campaign support.
Michigan’s 4th District has not gone blue since it was redrawn after the 2020 Census. But last week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee selected District 4 Democratic primary candidate and current State Senator Sean McCann for its “Red to Blue” program, which aims to flip districts that have historically elected Republicans.
“The goal from the DCCC’s perspective is to make Sean McCann's campaign more attractive for donors across the country," said Peter Wielhouwer, a professor of political science at Western Michigan University.
"But also help him to tap into organizational support such as maybe better access to fundraising lists, better access to voter identification lists, the voter file that the party has.”
Katie Smith is the DCCC’s regional press secretary for the Midwest. She said incumbent Republican Bill Huizenga is vulnerable, though he won the district by double digits in 2024.
“Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, they both won MI-04 in their ‘22 campaigns. They received more than 50% of the vote in this district. And that shows that there's a path for the right kind of Democrat to win here.”
While Democrats Whitmer and Benson prevailed in the district in 2022, Huizenga and now-president Trump won the majority of the vote in 2024. Wielhouwer said the “Red to Blue” program will give Sean McCann a leg up compared to past Democratic candidates, but victory won’t come easily.
“I think the Democrats really still have to overperform," he said. "They have to do 5, 6, 7, 8% better on average in order for those wins to really push Sean McCann over the line.”
Justin Mendoza is the chair of the Kalamazoo County Democratic Party. He said with the ongoing Democratic primary, it’s too soon to endorse a candidate. But like the DCCC, he sees the 2026 midterms as an opportunity for a Democratic win in District 4.
“It's the way folks have been showing up to things like the No Kings protests and parades and other efforts all over," he said. "Also, our local parties, all the overlapping county parties in particular, our membership is way up. We're seeing so much more energy.”
