First-term Rep. Haley Stevens looks to defend her seat against Republican Eric Esshaki in Michigan's 11th Congressional District
Chip Somodevilla
- First-term Rep. Haley Stevens will face Republican Eric Esshaki in Michigan's 11th congressional district.
- The district is one of 30 congressional districts that voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 but is currently represented by a Democrat in the House of Representatives.
- In March 2020, Esshaki successfully sued Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to extend the state's candidate filing deadline.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
First-term Rep. Haley Stevens looks to retain her House seat against Republic Eric Esshaki in Michigan's 11th congressional district.
The candidates
Stevens, the former chief of staff for President Barack Obama's Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, defeated two-term Republican incumbent David Trott in 2018 to join the House of Representatives. She is running on a platform centered around affordable healthcare, environmental protection, addressing drug addiction in the country, and strengthening American-Israeli ties.
Esshaki is a first-generation American and registered nurse. His campaign platform includes defunding Planned Parenthood, is against government-run healthcare, and standing against China. In late March, Esshaki sued Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after she instituted a stay-at-home order in March 2020. The lawsuit resulted in a federal judge extending the candidate filing deadline due to the increased challenges of collecting signatures during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Detroit News.
The district
Michigan's 11th congressional district is located in southeast Michigan and northwest of Detroit. It is home to many Detroit suburbs including Auburn Hills, Troy, Canton Township, Novi, Rochester Hills, Northville, Birmingham, West Bloomfield Township, and Livonia.
The district is one of 30 in the United States which voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 but is currently represented in office by a Democrat, with Trump carrying the district by 4.6 percentage points that year.
In 2018, as Stevens won her race by over six percentage points, Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow carried the district by three points over GOP candidate John James and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won the district by six points over Republican Bill Schuette, according to the Daily Kos.
The money race
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Haley has raised substantially more than Esshaki. With $3.86 million, Haley has raised about nine times more than Esshaki with $417,000. Esshaki has only $213,000 in cash on hand remaining compared to Haley's 3 million.
What some of the experts say:
The race between Esshaki and Haley is rated as as "leans Democratic" by The Cook Political Report, and "likely Democratic" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and "safe Democratic" by Inside Elections.