Swartz drops out, as 4th Congressional race pits Dem McCann against GOP's Huizenga

The candidate pool for Michigan's 4th Congressional District is thinning after Kalamazoo-based Democrat Jessica Swartz announced Saturday that she was withdrawing from the race to seek a seat in the state House.

Swartz made the announcement in a statement posted to Facebook, saying she will seek election to Michigan’s 41st state House District, currently held by Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo), who declared her intent in July to seek the 19th Michigan Senate District seat in 2026. 

Swartz pointed to rising costs for families and criticized Republicans in Lansing, accusing them of prioritizing the “extreme wing of their party” over working people.

Read More: Swartz to challenge Huizenga again as Democrats target 3 Michigan House seats in 2026

Following Swartz’s announcement, state Sen. Sean McCann, a Democrat from Kalamazoo who announced his own bid for the 4th District seat, released a statement praising her campaign and commitment to public service, Michigan Advance reported.

“I’m deeply grateful to Jessica for stepping up to run and her desire to serve our community,” McCann said. “I greatly admire her dedication to fighting to protect our health care, support our veterans, and look out for Southwest Michigan families.”

Read More: State Sen. Sean McCann announces campaign to flip the Fourth Congressional District

Swartz's announcement came less than a week after Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Holland Township) announced he would seek a ninth term representing the 4th Congressional District, which includes all of Allegan and Van Buren counties, as well as portions of Ottawa, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, and Berrien counties.

“To combat record inflation and improve affordability, I’ve secured historic-new-tax cuts and ensured Michiganders across all walks of life keep more of their hard-earned money,” Huizenga said in the post.

“I also voted to lower energy prices while championing transformative energy investments here in Southwest Michigan. My record shows I’ve always stood up for our men and women in law enforcement and uniform while never backing down in the fight to restore control of our borders,” he said.

The race for the 4th Congressional District has drawn attention from state Democrats, who see the seat as a potential pickup in their bid to regain a majority in Congress. 

Other Democrats seeking the nomination include cybersecurity professional Richard Aaron and former Congressional staffer Diop Harris in the Democratic primary. However, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer previously endorsed McCann, effectively giving him front-runner status in the contest.

Huizenga had been mentioned as a possible contender for the GOP nomination in the 2026 U.S. Senate race, after incumbent  Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) announced his retirement. Although Huizenga ended that speculation in July, essentially ceding the nomination to former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake), until this month, his future intentions remained speculative.

While it has been solidly Republican, recent polling has Huizenga with only a 2 percentage point lead over McCann, while the anti-Trump Save America Movement PAC recently announced it would target Huizenga’s district in a midterm election spending campaign.

— Michigan Advance Editor Jon King first reported this story.