Justin Michal speaks to constituents in Marquette. (Courtesy photo courtesy)

MARQUETTE — Congressional candidate Justin Michal (R-Grayling) has been traveling across the 1st district meeting with constituents. Last week, that included a stop at Marquette Senior High School.

“I was fortunate enough to participate in Turning Point at Northern,” said Michal. And I spoke there a few times, and during that time I met some Marquette High School students.”

One of these students got Michal in contact with their teacher, who invited him to present in a government class. Michal came back again to work with a media and video production class.

“I saw down with kids in a podcast form today,” said Michal. “It gave them an opportunity to ask some questions that were relevant to them.”

These high school students had questions about the economy and the job market; mainly, how their future career prospects might be affected by artificial intelligence.

“We’re in a situation right now where it’s hard to pitch what the American Dream is to a generation of kids where you don’t know what the path of civilization as a whole is going to go,” said Michal. “And that seems kind of grim, but it’s a serious threat. It’s not just a national security threat, which it could become, but it also may threaten our way of life as we know it. We don’t know if that’s for the good or for the bad.”

Another question Michal was asked by the MSHS students was what he thought the biggest issue that the government is currently facing.

“I said government spending,” said Michal. “Government spending is out of control. And if we, as a Republican, we say that we’re fiscally conservative, but we still spend more, or the same amount than the previous administration, that’s a travesty.

“You talk to kids about that, and you’re like, ‘I don’t know what the future holds,’ because if we continue to spend, eventually, people are going to say ‘when are you going to pay us back?'”

Michal is an army veteran and a conflict resolution specialist, working for the last twenty years with various NGOs and government agencies, and recently working on a research grant with the United Nations conducting research on human rights violations and restorative justice in Gaza and Ukraine. He is running against incumbent candidate Jack Bergman (R) and Matthew DenOtter (R).

Michal expressed frustration that, in his words, “opportunity in America is at its capacity, if not over its capacity.”

“I don’t know that the political parties have the answer, because some of the politicians that I’ve met, I don’t think are qualified to tie their shoes, let alone run the country,” said Michal. “What we need to do is focus specifically on figuring out key points and putting the brightest and smartest people that we have together, the shareholders and the stakeholders, and not just the people who are paying the bills. I’m kind of sick and tired of money influencing politics.”

“It is not financially beneficial (to take money out of politics) for the people who are currently in power or the people they represent, which is not the people you see here,” said Michal. “That’s the reason why you don’t see Congressman Bergman in the district. They don’t pay for his campaign. He doesn’t need to see you to get reelected, because no one in this district has the money.”

Michal is running a grassroots campaign against a nearly ten-year incumbent, which is no small task.

“You want to know what that’s like?” said Michal. “I have no political clout, no name. And I’ve got to convince every single Republican in a district that’s +21 Republican that I’m a better candidate than their incumbent that’s been there for ten years and is a retired three-star general.”

Michal says that running against Bergman means not having access to fundraisers, donor lists, or other resources that a candidate might otherwise have access to.

During one exchange, Michal imitated a fundraiser with a southern accent telling him “we want to get behind candidates who we think are going to win.”

“75% or more of Jack Bergman’s money is from out of district,” said Michal. “I put on a Southern accent because (Bergman) lives in Louisiana.”

“I’ve never asked anybody for anything in my life,” said Michal. “I grew up in Northern Michigan. We may ask to borrow a wrench if we don’t have one from the neighbors, but we don’t ask people for money because we know what the answer is: ‘Go out and make it, we don’t have any.”

In an attempt to overcome that disparity in name recognition, influence and funds, Michal has been on a nearly nonstop tour of Michigan’s 1st congressional district for the past year, meeting with voters.

“I put on more miles in the district than every single congressional employee in this district combined,” said Michal. “I attended more events. I’m at over 78,000 miles in sixteen months in the district. I’ve been to every single county, and it’s not just driving through them. I’ve had meetings in every single county at least three times; most of them ten or twelve times.”

“The only thing (Bergman) can do better than me is spend money,” said Michal.

“The difference of my campaign versus his campaign is that I care about people, because I live the same life that everyone here lives,” said Michal. “…My campaign slogan is bridging the divide. I live that.”

More information about Michal’s campaign can be found at justinmichalforcongress.com.

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.