Two sitting Republican congressmen in West and Southwest Michigan will face off in the November 2022 election after the state’s independent redistricting commission placed them in the same district.
Michigan’s longest-serving congressman still in office, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, will face off against U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, should Upton decide to run for reelection for the newly created 4th Congressional District. Huizenga already announced he’s seeking reelection.
That new district includes all of Allegan and Van Buren counties, and portions of Ottawa, Kalamazoo, Berrien and Calhoun counties, including the cities of Kalamazoo and Holland.
Related: See the new maps Michigan’s redistricting commission approved for Congress, House and Senate
In a Tweet late Tuesday, Dec. 28, Huizenga announced he planned to run for reelection in the new district. Huizenga was first elected to the U.S. House in 2010.
“The Michigan Redistricting Commission has spoken. I was born and raised in Ottawa County and I will proudly run to represent the voters in the newly created 4th Congressional District,” he wrote. “I can’t wait to get on the campaign trail and share my plan to protect life, cut spending, and create jobs.”
Upton, who has served in the U.S. House since he was first elected in 1986, could not immediately be reached for comment on any plans to run for reelection.
Related: Peter Meijer to run for reelection in newly drawn 3rd Congressional District
The longtime congressman told The Herald-Palladium in November that there were “too many unknowns to speculate about his next steps” and that he waits until the year of the election to decide if he’s running or not.
Upton has received criticism from some residents for high-profile votes he made this year.
In January, the Allegan County Republican Party voted to censure Upton for his vote to impeach President Donald Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” In November, Upton made public that he received a death threat from a male caller for his vote to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill pushed by President Biden.
The new Congressional districts map adopted Tuesday:
Can’t see the map? Click here https://mlive.carto.com/u/levinscott/builder/ffdf3951-aa18-40d6-b6fc-b1a3cbb45382/embed
The new Congressional political district map was approved Tuesday, Dec. 28, by Michigan’s independent redistricting commission.
Of the 13 members on the commission, it received support from eight members – two Democrats, two Republicans and two independent members on the commission. The new map will be in play for the next decade.
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