Bouchard, Hines face off for Macomb’s open 10th District seat, a toss-up that could help decide the House

WARREN, Mich. — Voters in southern Macomb County and the Rochester area will choose a new member of Congress on Nov. 3, with Michigan’s open 10th District seat seen as one of the races that could decide which party controls the U.S. House.

U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, is giving up the seat to run for governor. The Michigan Department of State’s official candidate listing shows five candidates on the ballot: Republican Michael Bouchard, Democrat Christina Bertrand Hines, Libertarian Mike Saliba, Green Party candidate Kwabena Nkromo and Working Class Party candidate Andrea L. Kirby.

The district takes in the southern half of Macomb County, including Warren and Sterling Heights, along with Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County. President Donald Trump carried it by six points in 2024, and Macomb County has backed Trump in each of the past three presidential elections, Michigan Public reported. With Trump off the ballot, the open seat is now considered a toss-up.

“The last three presidential cycles, Macomb County [was] carried by Donald Trump,” Oakland University political scientist David Dulio told Michigan Public, crediting “incredible inroads with working-class, blue-collar voters” in southern Macomb. The open question, he said, is whether Republicans can turn those voters out in a midterm.

The Republican. Bouchard, of Rochester, is an Army National Guard captain and the son of longtime Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. He won the Aug. 4 Republican primary with more than 70% of the vote over attorney Justin Kirk and two others, according to Ballotpedia’s primary results. His campaign says he served in the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions, deployed to the southern border and Iraq, and earned the Bronze Star with a joint task force fighting ISIS.

Bouchard has run on border security, public safety, manufacturing and parents’ rights. His campaign site says he stands for “finishing the wall, restoring the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, and ending catch-and-release once and for all,” and for deporting criminals who are in the country illegally. He backs “bringing manufacturing jobs back home and cutting red tape that crushes small businesses,” and a Parents’ Bill of Rights “so moms and dads always have a say in what their kids are being taught.”

“Like every other it has touched, far left policies under socialism are the poison that will either be defeated by this generation or it will haunt the next,” Bouchard said, in remarks quoted by Michigan Public.

Police groups are behind him. The Police Officers Association of Michigan endorsed Bouchard in May, with union President Jim Tignanelli calling him “a strong supporter of law enforcement.” The Southeastern Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police endorsed him this month, Michigan Advance reported. The Michigan Farm Bureau’s AgriPac named him a “Friend of Agriculture.” He told the Farm Bureau he supports eliminating the estate tax on family farms and opposes expanding the federal “Waters of the United States” definition.

The Democrat. Hines, a Warren lawyer, worked about a decade in the Washtenaw and Wayne County prosecutors’ offices and lost the 2024 race for Macomb County prosecutor to Republican Pete Lucido, Michigan Public reported. She beat Eric Chung and Tim Greimel in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary. Hines says she is running to lower health care costs, guard voting rights and protect “reproductive freedom”. “I just really think that both parties have left working families behind,” she told Michigan Public.

The money. Hines has the fundraising lead. She raised $2.3 million in the July–September quarter, compared with less than $950,000 for Bouchard, and has outraised him about $3.5 million to $2.6 million over the whole race, the Detroit Free Press reported Oct. 16.

Monday, Oct. 19, was the last day to register to vote online or by mail. After that, residents can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency, through 8 p.m. on Election Day. Statewide early in-person voting runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1. Absentee ballot applications are due by 5 p.m. Oct. 30 by mail or online, or by 4 p.m. Nov. 2 in person at the clerk’s office. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. County canvasses must finish by Nov. 17, and the Board of State Canvassers certifies statewide results by Nov. 23. Voters can check their registration and see their sample ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Updated Oct. 20, 2026: The Oct. 19 deadline to register to vote online or by mail has passed, so the voting details now say so. Residents can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency through 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Sources:
Michigan Department of State, Bureau of Elections, “Official Candidate Listing, General Election, Tuesday, November 3, 2026” (10th District candidates, parties and filing methods), https://mi-boe.entellitrak.com/etk-mi-boe-prod/page.request.do?electionType=GEN&electionYear=2026&page=page.miboePublicReport
Michigan Public, “What’s at stake in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District,” Oct. 2, 2026 (district boundaries, 2024 margin, Macomb voting history, Dulio quotes), https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-10-02/10th-congressional-district-michigan
Michigan Public, “Michigan’s Tenth Congressional race could determine which party controls Congress,” Sept. 28, 2026 (toss-up rating; Bouchard and Hines backgrounds and quotes), https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-09-28/10th-congressional-race-michigan-michael-bouchard-christina-hines
Detroit Free Press, “Democrats in Michigan’s big U.S. House, Senate races outraise GOP rivals,” Oct. 16, 2026 (third-quarter and total fundraising; Bouchard’s Guard rank and hometown), https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/10/16/democrats-michigan-races-gop-3rd-quarter-fundraising/92279852007/
Friends of Michael Bouchard, campaign website (service record and positions, as stated by the campaign), https://www.bouchardforcongress.com/
Police Officers Association of Michigan, “POAM Endorses Captain Mike Bouchard for Congress,” May 29, 2026, https://www.poam.net/poam-news/poam-endorses-captain-mike-bouchard-for-congress/
Michigan Advance, “Your Weekly Michigan Political Brief,” Oct. 9, 2026 (chiefs of police endorsement), https://michiganadvance.com/2026/10/09/your-weekly-michigan-political-brief-52/
Michigan Farm Bureau, “Michael Bouchard emphasizes agriculture in 10th District congressional bid,” July 8, 2026, https://www.michfb.com/about/news-media/michael-bouchard-emphasizes-agriculture-10th-district-congressional-bid
Ballotpedia, “Michigan’s 10th Congressional District” (Aug. 4 primary results, cross-check), https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan%27s_10th_Congressional_District
Michigan Department of State, “Absentee voting” and election calendar (registration, early voting and absentee deadlines), https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/voting/absentee-voting
Photo: ajay_suresh, “Sterling Heights - City Hall (50826112198).jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), cropped, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sterling_Heights_-_City_Hall_(50826112198).jpg

Warren · Election 2026 coverage

Tags: Warren · Election 2026 · Congress · Macomb County · Public Safety · Immigration