Bill Huizenga faces Jessica Swartz in Michigan 4th Congressional District election

• Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga faces Democrat Jessica Swartz in Michigan’s 4th Congressional District
• The district favors Republicans and covers all or parts of Allegan Van Buren, Berrien, Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Ottawa counties
• Donald Trump carried the district in 2016 and 2020

The Michigan 4th Congressional District is Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga’s to lose, but he faces a challenge from Democratic attorney Jessica Swartz in the Nov. 5 general election. 

The district covers the lakeshore from southern Ottawa County to Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, and extends east to include Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. It covers the entirety of Allegan and Van Buren counties and includes portions of Berrien, Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Ottawa counties. 

The seat has trended Republican in recent election cycles. Huizinga, who has served in Congress since 2011, won his re-election bid in 2022 with 54.36% of the vote over Democrat Joseph Alfonso. 

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Former President Donald Trump has been a favorite of local voters. He beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the district by 9 points in 2016 and President Joe Biden by 4 points in 2020.

Democrats contend the district is trending blue, pointing to local voter support for Proposal 3, a 2022 ballot initiative that added abortion protections to the Michigan Constitution. 

Here is a closer look at each of the candidates:

Democrat - Jessica Swartz: Swartz is a Kalamazoo attorney who previously worked for Western Michigan University and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She also volunteered with Voters Not Politicians, the group behind the successful ballot initiative that created Michigan’s independent redistricting commission. In announcing her campaign, Swartz said she wants to cut through partisan extremism and gridlock in Washington.

Republican - Bill Huizenga: Huizenga, of Holland, has served in Congress since 2011 and is a member of the House Financial Services Committee. He has served in leadership roles on task forces involving the Great Lakes and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Before running for office, he served in the Michigan House of Representatives and worked as a staffer for former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra. He co-owns Huizenga Gravel Inc. Among other issues, Huizenga supports a balanced federal budget, reducing regulations and taxes on businesses and restrictions on abortion access. 

U.S. Taxpayers - Curtis Clark: Clark, who lists an Allegan address in campaign filings, advanced to the general election ballot through nomination at a U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention in July.  The party is anti-abortion, supports limited taxation, education reform and property rights, among other things. 

Libertarian - Bill Krebaum: Krebaum, who lists an Ann Arbor address on campaign filings, was nominated at convention by the Libertarian Party of Michigan. The party advocates for personal liberty over government intervention and considers taxation "theft," according to its platform. 

Green - Clyde Shabazz: Shabazz, who lists a Detroit address in campaign finance filings, was nominated at convention by the Green Party of Michigan. Among other things, he has proposed $1,000 universal basic income checks for all Americans, and an additional $1,500 for Black reparations. Shabazz ran for the U.S. House in 2020 in the then-14th Congressional District but finished with less than 1% of the general election vote.