The Michigan 8th congressional district seat is up for grabs in November.
Democratic Representative Dan Kildee currently holds the seat and is retiring after 6 terms serving in Congress’s lower chamber.
The open seat means competitive primaries on both sides of the aisle.
At a recent voter event in Midland, conservative voters voiced concerns about many issues, with the economy standing out above all.
On a national level, Midland residents see the cost of living as the most direct impact of inflation.
“The inflation with the gas has affected everything, even checking out at the grocery store" said Erica Pina. "Somebody in line chatted in and was like, ‘Yeah, I put half my groceries back because I look at them and I'm like, do I really need this? I’m trying to stay on a budget and just taking things away, I've never had to do it as much.’”
“Well, I understand the economy to be very complex," said John Lynch. "The cost to go about your day-to-day business, whether it's the cost of energy, the cost of groceries, the costs associated with healthcare, all of those things present a burden to families,”
On a local level, both Pina and Lynch see the economic woes beyond what they’ve experienced.
“Just seeing how there's families out there who have to resort to living out on the streets or if they can get an apartment...just how life has changed and the American dream of buying a house has kind of gone by,” said Pina.
“We want to be a region that is viewed as being a region of choice for economic development and people want to come to places and live there when they have access to things like affordable housing, quality healthcare, safe environments, good transportation systems,” said Lynch.
The primary elections for the 8th congressional district and others across the state will be on Tuesday, August 6th.
