Carl Marlinga concedes to John James in race for Michigan’s 10th District

(FOX 2) - Democrat Carl Marlinga conceded to Republican John James ahead of the race for Michigan’s 10th Congressional District. Shortly after noon the day after, the Associated Press called the race for James.

James appeared to win the toss-up race by 26,000 votes, a wider margin than when he first ran in 2022.

In a statement conceding the race, Marlinga thanked his support and said his campaign was about "standing up for our shared values.

"We ran to protect Social Security and Medicare, defend reproductive rights, and ensure that every voice in this district was heard. Though we didn’t win, the fight for these issues continues. I will always remain committed to advocating for the working families of Michigan’s 10th District. We may not have won the race, but our vision for a fairer, stronger future for all Michiganders remains as strong as ever."

James won his first reelection bid, beating Marlinga for the house seat that makes up a large portion of Macomb County and northeast Oakland County. In 2022, James won the seat by just 1,600 votes. 

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Long seen as an up-and-coming Republican, James spoke at the Republican National Convention over the summer and made his priorities at the time clear: immigration and the economy.

"America was sold on hope and now the world is on fire, our borders are wide open, and Americans are going into debt to pay for their groceries. We can once again have a land where a child's outcome isn't determined by their zip code, we can once again have a land where hard work truly does get you ahead, we can once again have a land where you can go from poverty to prosperity in a single generation."

James, a graduate of Brother Rice High School, is a West Point graduate and served eight years in the Army and was deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He first ran for political office in 2018 when he challenged Senator Debbie Stabenow for her seat. Two years later, he took on Gary Peters for the other Senate seat but was unsuccessful in that one as well.

The seat was targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats. It was seen as one of 31 GOP-held seats that the DCC believed they could flip by "aggressively targeting" in this election.

James has long been seen as a rising star in the Republican Party and was seen as a prime candidate to run for Debbie Dingell’s open U.S. Senate seat in the state before announcing he would seek reelection.