Republican John James wins the state’s 10th congressional seat, winning out by thousands of votes, putting him ahead of his contender Democrat Carl Marlinga.
Republican John James beat out Democrat Carl Marlinga, former Macomb County judge and prosecutor, in their close race to represent Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, the Detroit Free Press reported.
James, garnered 159,203 (48.8%) votes while runner-up Marlinga received 157,602 (48.3%) votes — a difference of just 1,601 votes, according to the Associated Press numbers.
Earlier on Wednesday, November 9, Marlinga conceded in the race before the results were officially called, according to the news outlet.
Marlinga told the Detroit Free Press that he had not intention of requesting a recount.
“I’ve been doing politics too long,” he said in the article. “Recounts are usually just a lot of puffery unless they’re linked to something (some allegation) at a specific polling location or something.” He said unless such a specific claim of a miscount arises, he wouldn’t pursue a recount on his campaign’s behalf.
He added that he called James and told him congratulations.
“It feels great, there have been a lot of folks that have been working hard for a long time (to win),” James told WWJ 950 on his win.
Before this race, the experienced contenders ran for seats in Washington twice previously with James, losing in the U.S. Senate campaigns in 2018 and 2020. Marlinga lost in a Senate race in 1994 and once in a bid for the U.S. House in 2002.
James, a businessman and military veteran announced his candidacy earlier this year.
The newly-formed 10th District (developed through a congressional redistricting decision) includes Macomb County and a small piece of Oakland County. Former President Donald Trump won in this portion of southeastern Michigan in 2020 over then-presidential candidate Joe Biden.
“Our community needs a congressman who is grounded in real life — a leader who will defend our freedom, ensure good-paying jobs are available at home and offer to extend a helping hand to our neighbors in need,” James, 40, said in a statement.
Grouped now as one, this district has a bit of a Democratic tilt in the past 10 years, the Free Press reported, however, it has leaned more toward Republican values as of late.
In 2018, James infamously said that he supported the-President Trump “2,000 percent” though he has said afterward that, “No one owns me.”
The native Detroiter and Oakland County suburbanite also grew up in Southfield, and lives in Farmington Hills.
His parents (his father, a well-known businessman and entrepreneur John A. James Sr.) are Democrats.
James is now set to become Michigan’s only Black U.S. House member through his win. Some of his controversial values go against the largely-Black Democratic grain.
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