Tipsheet

Democrat Hillary Scholten Beats DCCC-Boosted Republican John Gibbs

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  November 09, 2022 3:00 PM

While Michigan's 3rd Congressional District was largely forecast to be "Lean Democratic," it still was a race worth watching between Democratic nominee Hillary Scholten, who ran unopposed in her primary, and Republican John Gibbs. That's because Gibbs won the primary in August by beating out Rep. Peter Meijer, one of the many pro-impeachment Republicans who went down in flames. Gibbs ultimately lost the general election, though, to Scholten. 



With an estimated 95 percent of the vote in, Scholten has 54.84 percent to Gibbs' 41.94 percent. 

It's the first time that a Democrat will represent the district, newly redrawn, since 1974.

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What makes the race even more interesting was that Gibbs was also boosted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which poured money into the primary. The argument was that Gibbs would be considered easier for Scholten to beat than Meijer in the general election. DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney steadfastly defended and excused such a move. 

In another twist of fate, Maloney conceded his House race in New York's 17th Congressional District on Wednesday morning against Republican Mike Lawler. 

Gibbs shared a statement on Wednesday morning thanking his volunteers and supporters, which closed with indicating he wishes Scholten well, emphasized "through no fault of our own, the results did not turn out the way we wanted." 

Specifically, his statement lamented how "precinct-level returns per candidate in Kent county went dark before midnight, and remain down even now, taking away our ability to track returns at that level and identify any local anomalies." He added that this was an "unacceptable situation at a time when people are losing faith in the security our elections [sic]."