Democrat Sean McCann of Kalamazoo has flipped Michigan’s 4th Congressional District. The race between 15-year incumbent Republican Representative Bill Huizenga and state Senator McCann still wasn’t called as of election morning; the Associated Press called the race Wednesday afternoon.
It’s the first time the district has gone Democratic in over 90 years. McCann spoke to reporters in Kalamazoo around 3 p.m. Wednesday shortly after the race was called.
“We went all around this district to be available and to talk and listen to voters. That's unfortunately something that was missing in this particular race with the incumbent who hadn't held a town hall since 2018," McCann said.
McCann said Huizenga had not yet spoken with him as of 3:30 p.m. The Congressman has not responded to WMUK’s request for comment on the results.
McCann said he’ll be in Washington D.C. as soon as this weekend to begin the process of replacing Huizenga, who has served in Congress since 2011.
But McCann said he'll also be making his rounds in the district soon, and hopes to schedule a series of town halls.
“I'm going to keep visiting my local establishments here in Kalamazoo and then learn about all those special local places around the district that I haven't had as much of a chance to build that that connection with," McCann said.
Huizenga was joined at his victory press conference by his wife and daughter, as well as Democratic state Representative Julie Rogers — who won her bid to succeed McCann as 19th district state senator.
"I was, also, very cautiously optimistic that the state Senate would maintain [Democratic] majority, but wasn't sure by how big a margin, so that '23' number is really exciting. Same thing in the House, where I serve right now. I thought we would get to a majority of 56, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine 63," Rogers said.
McCann said he believes voters in Southwest Michigan were ready for a change, and said high voter turnout was crucial for Democrats like himself to succeed.
"You build a campaign like you build, maybe, a championship sports team — to peak at the right time," McCann said.
