MARLINGA-JAMES REMATCH?
It’s anybody’s guess this far in advance of the 2024 elections but there now is a chance that the U.S. House 10th District contest could shape up to be a rematch between Democrat Carl Marlinga from Sterling Heights and incumbent Republican John James, who now lives in Shelby Township since his victory for this seat in 2022. The district includes Rochester and Rochester Hills, along with the south part of Macomb County. Marlinga – former probate and circuit court judge and county prosecutor – lost to James by one of the narrowest margins nationally, 0.5 percent or 1,600 votes, without any help from national Democratic organizations. This time around, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has included the 10th District in a list of over 30 House districts it plans to target in 2024. In 2022 Marlinga raised just under $1 million for the contest while James spent about $6 million. As of the latest filing, Marlinga has raised $14,000 and has $3,000 on hand, while James now has $1.69 million on hand. If Marlinga wants to be the November election party standard bearer, he will have to eliminate a field of candidates already announced for the primary. The field of hopefuls include Emily Busch, a gun safety advocate from Oxford, who has raised $80,000 and has $61,000 on hand, along with Warren financial advisory Diane Young who has raised just over $106,000, with $58,000 on hand. Young also has the endorsement of Democratic state Senator Mallory McMorrow. Also in the mix is Brian Jaye from Macomb County, who has raised $6,000. Standing in the shadows with an exploratory committee is Democrat Anil Kumar, a physician who is on the Wayne State Board of Governors and had run against Republican David Trott for Congress in 2016.