Democrat wins Michigan House race to replace GOP Rep. Peter Meijer

Attorney Hillary Scholten (D) was projected to win Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, flipping the district in a key victory for the Democratic Party.

The Associated Press called the race at 2:10 a.m.

House Democrats’ campaign arm had boosted Trump-backed Republican John Gibbs in his successful primary challenge to Rep. Peter Meijer (R), a moderate who voted to impeach the former president over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

That strategy raised controversy among Democrats who believed the party was aiding a potentially successful general election campaign by Gibbs, who has endorsed former President Trump’s unfounded claims of mass fraud in the 2020 election.

But those criticisms did not bear fruit on Tuesday, with Scholten now poised to represent the district that includes Grand Rapids and other parts of West Michigan.