Scholten wins Dem primary in key Michigan congressional district

Hillary Scholten won the House Democratic primary in Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District – one of the most critical races on the map when it comes to deciding control of Congress.

Scholten defeated Salim Al-Shatel with 87% of the vote according to a call by the Associated Press.

Scholten, who is finishing her freshman term in Congress, entered the race as the incumbent and sought to highlight a record that supporters say showed her fighting for change during her first two years on the Hill.

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"Other people can make a lot of promises," Scholten said in an interview with ABC News 13. "It's easy to sit on the sidelines and cast stones or say what you would do, but I'm the only one running who's been able to get up every day and deliver on the things that I promised to do in 2022. And we've done them."

Meanwhile, Al-Shatel said he entered the race after growing disillusioned with some of Scholten’s policies.

"I didn't want to complain about it on social media or to my friends or something," Al-Shatel told ABC News 13. "I wanted to give the people another option, because Hillary's ran unopposed twice now [in the primary], and I didn't want her to go unchecked with that stuff."

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Al-Shatel said he wanted to provide an alternative to Scholten on issues such as foreign policy, where he argued the U.S. was supporting a "genocide" in the Middle East instead of funding priorities at home.

"I'm looking at that as a genocide of what's going on with the innocent people that are dying there," Al-Shatel said. "And I don't see the need for us to continue sending money abroad here to these wars when people here don't have universal health care, the rising price of groceries, the rising price of homes."

In the general election, [Winner] will take on the winner of Tuesday’s GOP primary, which pits attorney Paul Hudson against businessman Michael Markey Jr.

Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District has become more competitive since the state redrew congressional maps in 2022, eventually leading to Scholten ousting former Republican Rep. Peter Meijer later that year.

The district is classified by the Cook Political Report as "likely" to be won by a Democrat in this year’s election.