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To the Journal editor:
You wrote in your editorial published on Sept. 24, "Don't look for a Bergman vs. Barr debate”:
"The mathematics of past elections should tell you most First Congressional District voters care little or not at all where Bergman lives, be it Watersmeet, Louisiana, or the surface of the moon... There is no reason we know of to think anything has changed there for the 2026 midterms."
Since I've launched this campaign, I've criss-crossed the district, meeting folks who clamor to tell me about what's changing in their lives and their communities, and how they feel abandoned by Jack Bergman.
Here's a quick rundown:
Since the beginning of 2025, Michigan families have been crushed by inflation, paying an estimated extra $4,200 a year for necessities like housing, groceries, utilities, and gas.
From September 2025 to present, Michigan has been burdened with the highest gas price increases in the entire nation thanks to tariffs Jack Bergman voted for and yet another war of choice in Iran that Bergman keeps voting to extend.
In 2025, Jack Bergman voted to kick millions of Americans off their health insurance and double insurance premiums for working families, while hospitals in his district are closing birthing centers, reducing beds, and even shutting their doors altogether.
In May, we learned more about Bergman's corruption, thanks to investigative reporting that uncovered how his top staffers have been running a political consulting operation, raking in over $500,000 on top of their $200,000 taxpayer-funded salaries. Bergman helped them hide their side gig from public disclosure and endorsed their clients.
We also learned that Bergman is the No. 1 spender on taxpayer-funded lodging in the entire Congress, racking up $479,447 in lodging expenses during his time in office.
In August, voters signaled they've had enough. Bergman was challenged for re-election by two members of his own party. And for the first time in decades, Democratic and Republican voters turned out to vote in nearly equal numbers.
Our founding fathers gave U.S. House representatives two-year terms, because Americans need to get the country back on track quickly when the current leadership is failing. Re-election is not something corrupt incumbent politicians are entitled to. It's not a perk of the office like the oysters and cigars paid for by Bergman's corporate donors. It's a sacred right of the American people to choose their representatives.
On Nov. 3, the voters will have their say. I'm a Northern Michigan person with Northern Michigan values, and I am asking for the opportunity to fight for you.