Jack Bergman

Michigan’s largest congressional district has both familiar and fresh faces on the ballot in a three-way primary on both sides.

Michigan’s first congressional district is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet). The district encompasses 15 counties in the Upper Peninsula and 20 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula.

Bergman has represented the district since 2017. Republican candidates Matthew DenOtter, and Justin Michal are challenging the incumbent on the Aug. 4 primary ballot.

Candidates Callie Barr, who faced Bergman in the 2024 election, Kyle Blomquist and Wayne Stiles are vying for the Democrat position in the primary.

MLive partnered with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide a voter guide for readers. Each candidate was asked to outline their stance on public policy issues, listed below.

Republican candidates Bergman, DenOtter and Michal did not fill out the candidate questionnaire or respond to multiple requests from MLive to fill it out prior to publication.

All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters or MLive, except for necessary cuts if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected.

Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties.

HEALTHCARE: What specific steps will you take in Congress to address healthcare affordability, access and quality for the people you represent?

Barr: Healthcare should be affordable and accessible for everyone - I will fight for universal healthcare. I will fight to repeal Medicaid cuts that threaten rural hospitals and nursing homes and extend ACA subsidies to keep coverage affordable. I support a strong public option so everyone can see a doctor without worrying about the bill. We must lower prescription drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate prices, require transparency in healthcare pricing, and reform insurance companies that deny needed care. Finally, I will fully fund the VA, end harmful staffing cuts, and ensure veterans receive the timely, quality care they earned.

Blomquist: I will work to pass Medicare for All so that we can finally join the rest of the developed world in providing universal healthcare to every American; eliminating our uniquely cruel for-profit health insurance system, which results in rampant claim denial, care avoidance, and medical debt. Medicare for All also reforms Medicare to eliminate the need to expensive supplements, and finally covers every American from birth to death. I will also work to fund public clinics to fill rural healthcare gaps where private healthcare systems have deemed my neighbors’ care unprofitable.

Stiles: Healthcare must serve patients, not corporate monopolies. I support restoring a strong Public Option to increase competition and lower costs. We should use the federal government’s buying power to reduce prescription drug prices and allow insurance competition across state lines. In rural Northern Michigan, expanding telehealth requires major investment in fiberoptic broadband. Where corporate hospital systems have consolidated and abandoned rural communities, I support federally operated hospitals and care facilities to restore local access to emergency, senior, and mental health care. The long-term goal should be universal healthcare.

ECONOMY: What policy initiatives do you support for residents to earn a living wage and address the overall question of affordability across Michigan?

Barr: I am running on an Affordable LIFE. I oppose policies that cause gas and food prices to skyrocket. For jobs, I support investments in small businesses, protecting the right to organize (PRO Act), and investing in apprenticeship and workforce training programs. To address affordability, I support universal healthcare, lowering prescription drug costs, increase the supply of affordable housing, reduce childcare expenses, and protect Social Security and Medicare. I will also support tax policies that reward work rather than wealth, ensuring working families—not billionaires and large corporations—benefit from economic growth.

Blomquist: I believe in mandating Living wages and Paid Time Off for all American workers. I support a Federal Jobs Guarantee and a Green New Deal, which would redirect funding away from our oversized military budget and towards putting Americans to work rebuilding infrastructure and providing services at home. I would attack affordability with programs like Medicare for All, repealing the Faircloth amendment to provide quality, affordable public housing to all that need it, and enforcing and strengthening existing anti-trust law to break up monopolies and impose price-controls to combat price gouging across all industries and markets.

Stiles: The best social program ever invented is a good-paying job. Northern Michigan’s economy depends on manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, tourism, shipping, and outdoor recreation. I support expanding skilled trades and apprenticeship programs, rebuilding roads and ports, protecting family farms, and bringing reliable high-speed internet to every rural community in MI-01. We must prioritize small businesses over multinational corporations while lowering everyday costs through affordable housing, lower prescription drug prices, and practical energy policies that keep utility costs affordable.

ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY: How would you approach ensuring energy reliability, consumer affordability and environmental protection in Michigan?

Barr: Michigan needs an energy strategy that is reliable, affordable, and responsible. I support an all-of-the-above approach that includes renewables and existing energy sources while modernizing our electric grid and expanding domestic energy production. We must lower utility costs for families, invest in energy efficiency, and strengthen infrastructure. At the same time, we must protect the Great Lakes, support responsible environmental stewardship, and create good-paying jobs in clean energy, manufacturing, and infrastructure so Michigan can lead in both economic growth and environmental protection.

Blomquist: In order to improve our energy reliability we must modernize our energy infrastructure and invest in renewable energy sources. Addressing consumer affordability requires elected leaders who are willing to break up utility monopolies, pass federal legislation creating more powerful consumer protections against utility price gouging, and public investment in green energy infrastructure, resulting in publicly owned utilities and further eroding corporate control over energy markets. Environmental protection must happen at all levels of government through robust investment, oversight, and accountability. The great lakes region must be protected.

Stiles: Northern Michigan needs an all-of-the-above energy strategy that keeps power reliable, affordable, and American-made. I support expanding wind, hydroelectric, propane, natural gas, and next-generation renewable energy while modernizing the electric grid and protecting the Great Lakes. Nuclear energy can continue to play a limited role where it is safe and cost-effective. Rural families should not bear the burden of policies that dramatically raise utility bills. We must protect our forests, water, and outdoor economy while ensuring dependable and affordable energy for homes, farms, and businesses.

IMMIGRATION: What is your position on due process, First Amendment, and Fourth Amendment rights for all Michigan residents, including noncitizens, and what changes, if any, would you support?

Barr: The Constitution protects fundamental rights, including due process, free speech, and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. These rights are essential to our democracy and must be upheld. I support secure borders, an orderly immigration system, and enforcement of our laws, but I also believe government must follow the Constitution. No one should be denied due process or have their rights violated by government action. I support comprehensive immigration reform that strengthens border security, modernizes legal immigration pathways, and ensures fair, efficient, and lawful procedures.

Blomquist: All constitutional rights including those enshrined in the first and fourth amendment should apply to every resident of our country, including those non-citizens. I support the repeal of the Laken Riley act, which undermined due-process rights based on citizenship status.