Michigan — 8th District

KOCHVILLE TWP, MI — A Republican Congressional candidate is taking criticism from his opponent for declining an invitation to a candidate forum series hosted for years by Saginaw Valley State University.

Republican Thomas J. Smith will face incumbent U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat, in the November election for Michigan’s 8th Congressional District seat.

Smith made national headlines with his August Republican primary victory after he had suspended his campaign and endorsed a GOP opponent weeks earlier. After the primary victory, Smith announced he was resuming his campaign, now as the Republican nominee.

But his campaign confirmed Smith would not participate in the candidate forums hosted each election cycle by SVSU. The longstanding forum series originally focused on statewide offices representing mid-Michigan; 8th Congressional District candidates have participated since 2022.

Members of McDonald Rivet’s campaign criticized Smith for declining the invitation.

“Kristen was eager to debate her opponent and contrast her fight for mid-Michigan with her opponent’s extreme agenda — but unfortunately, Thomas Smith is hiding from the voters,” Bobby Bennett, the Democrat’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “Mid-Michigan deserves better than a politician like Smith who can’t explain his support for the Iran War, his opposition to regulating AI and data centers, or his calls to let the health care system ‘work unobstructed.’”

A statement provided by Smith fired back at his opponent.

“Kristen McDonald Rivet is a dangerous Beijing-coddling swamp creature who voted to hand massive tax giveaways to her data center handlers while trying to defund our military and police,” the Smith statement read. “While I’m out fighting for mid-Michigan, Rivet is too busy cheerleading Abdul El-Sayed’s radical, anti-troop agenda behind desperate, deflection-filled press releases because she knows mid-Michigan voters are going to bounce her out of office.”

The Smith campaign did not provide a reason for declining SVSU’s invitation.

SVSU organizers had not set a date for the forum, with that detail typically reserved until after candidates accept their invitations and agree on a schedule.

Known as the SVSU Great Lakes Bay Candidate Forums, the events typically are sponsored by a lineup of mid-Michigan voter advocacy groups, business groups, and local branches of the GOP and Democratic political parties.

During the forums, moderators ask candidates questions based on topics proposed by SVSU’s College Republicans and College Democrats student organizations, as well as audience members.

Smith in the August primary received more than half the votes cast in a three-candidate race that included fellow Republicans Amir Hassan and Al Lemmo. Smith’s wide primary margin came despite Hassan securing an endorsement from President Donald Trump. Hassan even appeared alongside Trump during the president’s visit to Michigan this summer.

McDonald Rivet faced no Democratic challengers in August, clearing the way for the first-term House representative to seek re-election in the November general election.

Smith will look to outperform the previous 8th District Republican nominee who faced McDonald Rivet. In November 2024, she defeated Republican Paul Junge, 217,490 to 189,317 votes, a 6.7 percentage-point victory.

The November 2026 election will represent part of a broader fight for control of the 435-seat U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans hold 218 seats, while Democrats hold 214. There are two vacancies and one independent member.

The 8th District includes Bay, Genesee and Saginaw counties, along with portions of Midland and Tuscola counties.

For more coverage of the 2026 election, click here.