Republicans look to beat 2 Democratic incumbents in US House

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A number of Republican challengers are running in primaries to take on Michigan Reps. Elissa Slotkin and Haley Stevens, whose victories two years ago flipped GOP-held seats and helped Democrats gain control of the U.S. House.

Whoever wins will face obstacles in November because both women have major fundraising edges, President Donald Trump has lost ground among suburban voters and challengers may struggle even more during the pandemic.

"There’s so much swirling right now between the coronavirus and the presidential race and protests. I think challenger candidates are going to have a hard time breaking through that clutter,” said David Dulio, a political science professor at Oakland University. “This is not just for these two races, but for congressional races and state-level races. I think incumbents are going to have a big advantage.”

A look at the races:

8TH DISTRICT

Slotkin’s district, which includes Ingham, Livingston and parts of Oakland County, was represented by Republicans for nearly 20 years before she beat incumbent Mike Bishop in 2018. Four Republicans are running.

Paul Junge, who leads big in fundraising after loaning or giving his campaign $528,000, has worn a few hats — being a deputy district attorney in California, a TV news anchor in Lansing and most recently an external affairs adviser for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Alan Hoover, a former Marine for 20 years, said virus restrictions hurt his fundraising but tensions over Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s orders have helped his campaign.

“It’s caused an awakening among people that are truly patriotic and conservative in nature, constitutionalist, to be more involved in what’s going on with the government and especially the elections, so now...