James ekes out win over Marlinga for suburban U.S. House seat

Republican businessman John James has prevailed over Democrat and former prosecutor Carl Marlinga in their contest for an open seat in Congress representing southern Macomb County and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County.

James had 49% of the vote and Marlinga had 48% with 99%of the votes counted when the Associated Press called the race in James' favor Wednesday afternoon. Working Party nominee Andrea L. Kirby of Eastpointe won 2% of the vote and Libertarian Mike Saliba of Clinton Township had 1%.

James, 41, of Farmington Hills, declared victory Wednesday morning and Marlinga conceded shortly after noon.

The race was exceedingly close in Macomb County, where Marlinga lost by just 586 votes, according to unofficial results. In Oakland County, he lost by 1,015 votes. Both counties showed 100% of precincts reporting.

"Throughout this race people have shared their hardships and today they have spoken. They have chosen experienced leadership. Help is on the way,” James said in a statement Wednesday morning.

“I am humbled and grateful for the support and the trust of the people of Macomb County, Rochester and Rochester Hills. We will lower prices, protect our jobs and make our communities safer. I will not let you down!” 

James will be the first Black Republican to represent Michigan in Congress and the first Black member from Michigan to represent a majority White suburban district. A rising star in the GOP, he previously lost two bids for U.S. Senate in 2018 and 2020 and does not live in the 10th Congressional District, though has said he'd move.

Marlinga, 75, of Sterling Heights, retired early from the Macomb County Circuit Court in February to pursue the Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Michigan's new 10th District that covers parts of Macomb and Oakland counties. He won the five-way primary in August with 49% of the vote.

The contest has been the only competitive U.S. House race in Metro Detroit this fall. The seat is open after redistricting because U.S. Rep. Andy Levin of Bloomfield Township opted to run for reelection next door in the 11th District, where he lost the Democratic primary in August.

James vastly outspent Marlinga during the campaign cycle, spending nearly $4.4 million to Marlinga’s $814,000 through Oct. 19, after the Democrat struggled to raise big money. 

Marlinga was frustrated Wednesday that national Democratic groups like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee didn't help him at all, instead they "threw money into these races where $1 million wasn’t going to move the needle."

"It's just one of those things where if I had one more month or $100,000 more money, I would have won," Marlinga said Wednesday. "I just wish the party had taken these things more seriously. What I’m talking about is taking the time to double check your assumptions. Taking the time to set aside rumors and find out what the facts are in the district."

James also enjoyed an advantage in terms of name identification after two statewide races with TV ads running on heavy rotation in the last four years, while Marlinga’s peak days in the press were over two decades ago when he served as Macomb County prosecutor, likely contributing to lower name ID especially among younger voters.

Based on the 2020 election results, former President Donald Trump would have won the new 10th District by 1 percentage point. But Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township also would have narrowly won it over James that year by less than a point.

The district has seen about $2.2 million in outside spending by Republican-aligned groups, largely by the Congressional Leadership Fund, which has ties to House GOP leadership.

Republicans attacked some of Marlinga's work at the defense bar, sought to tie him to high inflation and have raised past controversies like his indictment on federal corruption charges of which he was acquitted in 2006.

Democrats hit James for living outside the district, for his position on abortion — he is opposed with no exceptions for rape or incest — and said he's avoiding stances on some policy issues, as he did during his Senate campaigns.

More:James has name, cash advantage in Congress race against Marlinga

James, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq, was recruited by national Republicans to run. He is president of his family's business, the James Group International, in southwest Detroit.

James on the campaign trail called for “reasonable” deregulation, lower tax rates and tort reform, which he argued will lower inflation, boost competition and spur innovation. He also talked about GOP priorities like energy independence, the migrant crisis at the Southern border, crime and the controversy over classroom instruction and teacher training on diversity, gender and race. 

He's emphasized his experience in the military and the supply chain business and has criticized Democrats for outsized spending and "elitist" policies that sent American jobs overseas. "How about let's give conservative leadership a try before there's nothing left of our country," he said in one of his closing ads.

Johnnie Willey, 74, a retired machinist from Roseville, said he cast his vote for James, saying he thinks he'll do a good job in office: "I like him because he served his time, and he seems like a good person, family oriented."

Willey said he knew Marlinga years ago when he'd show up to veterans events, but "I don't know too much about him anymore, so I really couldn't say anything about him."

Ralph Lang, 55, of Roseville also voted for James, citing his military service and his experience in business, while being a "family man."

"I've been paying attention to him on the platform since he came out into politics, and I agree with 98% of everything he says. I have friends who are friends with him, and they say that he really is that guy," Lang said.

Lang said he has no problem with Marlinga, calling him "relatively balanced" for a Democrat. "I just liked John James more," he added.

Marlinga spent four decades in public life in Macomb County as prosecutor for 19 years, an assistant U.S. attorney and as a judge on the county Circuit and Probate Courts since 2013.

He has emphasized his support for labor unions, for investing in clean energy to create jobs and protecting abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court's June decision overturning Roe v. Wade. He described himself as a fiscal conservative who wants an environment for business to thrive and is cautious about "overtaxing" and overspending, though he has said he would have voted for the recent pandemic relief, infrastructure and climate packages.

He would back paid family leave and bans on semi-automatic weapons and stock trading by members of Congress. He supports Medicare For All, President Joe Biden's student debt forgiveness plan, and to ease the migrant crisis, he'd like to see the government hire about 10,000 lawyers to be immigration judges to tackle the backlog of cases and expedite deportations.

Robert Daigle, 79, a retiree from Warren, said voted for Marlinga because he's a Democrat and because "he's got a lot of experience."

"Hundreds and hundreds of commercials this year. Too many of the commercials were negative," he said of the election cycle. "I wanted to hear more about what candidate was going to do for me rather than just slamming their opponent."

mburke@detroitnews.com