Michigan election results: Paul Hudson wins GOP primary, will face Rep. Hillary Scholten

• Attorney Paul Hudson wins GOP primary race in west Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, anchored by Grand Rapids
• Hudson will face Democratic U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten in the general election
• The district is a former conservative stronghold that has trended Democratic in recent years

Attorney Paul Hudson won a fiercely fought Republican primary in west Michigan and will advance to the general election to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten in the 3rd Congressional District. 

Hudson bested entrepreneur Michael Markey after striking a more moderate tone in the race but using a family-funded super PAC to go on the attack.

Scholten, meanwhile, easily batted away a Democratic primary challenge from entrepreneur Salim Al-Shatel. See the latest results here:

Scholten was the first Democrat to represent Grand Rapids in 46 years when she entered office in 2023, and her party is expected to mount a significant fight to hold onto the seat. 

West Michigan is a traditional conservative stronghold, but Kent County has shifted in recent years. President Joe Biden beat Trump by 8 percentage points there four years ago, a good sign for Democrats’ fortunes with Trump again at the top of the ticket.

Related:

• Michigan primary 2024 results live: U.S. House
• Michigan primary 2024 results live: U.S. Senate
• Michigan primary 2024 results live: State House

Scholten, however, lost that year in her first campaign for congress, falling to Republican Peter Meijer in the general election. She won office in 2022 by defeating John Gibbs, a Trump-endorsed Republican who had unseated Meijer in the primary earlier that year. 

Though Scholten has the advantage of incumbency, the race is far from a lock for the first-term Democrat. 

Cook Political Report has rated the district “likely Democrat,” but Scholten has appeared on a list of targeted incumbents by the National Republican Campaign Committee, alongside Michigan’s 7th and 8th districts.

Republicans and Democrats alike will have to navigate a relatively centrist district that encompasses heavily Democratic Grand Rapids and Muskegon but also most of Ottawa County, the state’s fastest growing county, which has flirted with far-right conservatism in local offices, most prominently through the political organization Ottawa Impact.

Outside a polling place in Cascade Township on Tuesday, Beth Saldivia said that while she was an independent, she may never be able to vote Republican again because of Trump. The 62-year-old veterinarian appreciates the regular email updates she receives from Scholten, although she doesn’t agree with her on every issue.

“That’s me — fiscally conservative, socially liberal,” she told Bridge. “Moderate in many things.”

Saldivia is keeping reproductive rights, racial justice and climate change top of mind at the ballot box. But when it comes to politicians that represent those views and value responsible fiscal policy, Saldivia said, “there aren’t any.”

Markey and Hudson’s primary had grown bitter in its final weeks, with Markey’s campaign accusing Hudson of having ties to the Chinese Communist Party through his job as an appellate attorney, while a super political action committee closely linked to Hudson had claimed in ads that Markey supported the “Green New Deal.”

Hudson obtained the support of elected Republicans like U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, and state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township. 

On the other hand, Markey had been picked by local party officials, including the chairs of the Kent County and 3rd congressional district Republican Parties.

Scholten had also been the only member of Michigan’s congressional delegation to call on President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid. POLITICO reported her campaign was subsequently cut off from state Democratic campaign resources, only for them to later be restored.