By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


Former television-news anchor Paul Junge of Brighton has won the Republican nomination for 8th District U.S. Congress.

Paul Junge won a 4-way race, that was close all night with Mike Detmerof Howell Township. Detmer actually won Livingston County with a stronger in-person showing at the ballot boxes, but Junge’s numbers in Ingham County, and in particular, Oakland County, were enough to overcome. Junge will now face Democrat incumbent Elissa Slotkin in November.

A release from Junge’s office following the primary results stated the following:

“Elissa Slotkin votes 96% of the time with liberal Speaker Nancy Pelosi, taking our country in the wrong direction by voting to give $1,200 checks to illegal immigrants, subsidies to communist Chinese companies, and to impose costly foreign environmental schemes on America that will destroy Michigan jobs and raise the cost of heating our homes. I will use my experience working in our family business, as a prosecutor, and at Homeland Security to rebuild our economy, help families and small businesses, and defend our American values”

“Elissa Slotkin broke her promise to give American families a fair shake when she joined with the Washington DC establishment elite to give taxpayer-funded subsidies to communist Chinese companies. I will fight to put America First by working to rebuild our economy, defeat coronavirus, and put American taxpayers ahead of Chinese companies,” added Paul Junge.

"I thank Kristina, Mike, and Alan for their willingness to take on Liberal Slotkin. We must now unite to defeat Slotkin in November and together we will make Slotkin a one-term Member of Congress," said Paul Junge.

Congresswoman Slotkin released a statement ahead of the final results, Tuesday, inviting the eventual winner to civil debates. Her release stated:

“I want to thank all of the voters who cast their ballots for our August 4th primary, elections officials and poll workers across 8th District, and all of the amazing volunteers who worked so hard to register absentee voters in the wake of COVID-19. It’s so important that citizens don’t have to choose between exercising their right to vote and their health.”

“While the outcome of tonight’s Republican primary is not yet clear, what we do know is that voters deserve to hear for themselves the clear differences between myself and my eventual opponent. Just as our Founding Fathers designed it, citizens have the right to question the candidates and understand what specifically they will do to improve their lives. Whomever my opponent will be, I will invite him or her to participate in three debates, one each for Oakland, Livingston and Ingham counties. Voters deserve to hear directly from those who seek to represent them, and head-to-head debates, broadcast as widely as possible for the COVID era, are the best way to give voters an opportunity to see the clear differences between us. It is my sincere hope that my opponent will join me in approaching this competition with decency and respect for each other, and for the democratic process. This is what the residents of the 8th district, and all Michiganders, want and expect of their elected officials. In the final sprint to Election Day, I intend to demonstrate to our kids and our community that civility and decency are not only possible, but expected of anyone seeking elected office.”