Battle in the 8th Congressional District taking shape

U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) is running for his sixth term in Congress, and Democrats have found a candidate many think might just unseat the “money man” of the GOP.

In an extensive preview of the race, which also features interviews with various players who have battled the GOP for the 8th District, City Pulse, a weekly newspaper in Lansing, introduces readers to Kande Ngalamulume. The piece handicaps the race, talks to various residents of the 8th and provides information about Ngalamulume.

Here’s how the district is described:

Conservative Livingston County is indeed the heart of the 8th District, which has been represented in Washington for 10 years by conservative Republican Mike Rogers. It is a traditionally conservative county; it went for John McCain in 2008 and George W. Bush in 2004 and 2000. It also hinges on scary conservative: Cohoctah Township, north of Howell, was home to a compound owned by the Ku Klux Klan’s grand dragon.

Former Gov. John Engler created the district after the 2000 Census, deliberately making sure it leaned very Republican. The district contains the mostly Republican Clinton and Livingston counties, plus a conservative corner of Oakland County, and a small chunk of rural Shiawassee County. Ingham County is the lone Democratic county in the mix, and Rogers has not carried it since 2002. Rogers lives in Brighton, a bland suburb in southern Livingston County.

Some may think the district unwinnable for a Democrat. Several have tried and failed: Bob Alexander, from East Lansing, was badly defeated in 2004; he tried again in 2008 and was defeated less badly. In 2002, Frank McAlpine ran and got about 70,000 votes to Rogers’ 156,000. In 2006, Jim Marcinkowski, a former CIA agent and former colleague of outed spy Valerie Plame, got about 122,000 votes to Rogers’ 157,000. (When Ngalamulume debuted his campaign in Clarkston several weeks ago, Marcinkowski and Alexander were at his side. Alexander is also helping run the Ngalamulume campaign.)

Another problem is redistricting. Because of the 2010 Census, a shift in population could cause the 8th to go away completely, or be gerrymandered by Republican state leadership to retain its red leanings. Some political science hobbyists have projected that the 8th will shrink in geographic size and end up somewhere down in the Detroit area.

And Ngalamulume himself is described thusly:

In talking about what he would do for the 8th District voters, Ngalamulume is broad — he supports creating jobs, making health care affordable and improving education. Though, it seems, he has not yet honed a campaign mantra. And although he is a Democrat, it would be wrong to call him a liberal, which may be to his advantage. He says that he is more of a moderate.
On a personal level, he is against abortion, though he supports a woman’s right to choose. He thinks Michigan’s corporate taxes are too high and should be lowered. And, his views on health care are spiritual.

But the reality is that Ngalamulume is facing an up-mountain race, with Rogers campaign committee reporting in March it had $900,000 on hand. Rogers is known for his tough aggressive campaign hit pieces, sent out late in an election, which decimate an opponent. And because Rogers holds a significant fundraising lead in the district, opponents find themselves caught unable to respond in kind.

Ngalamulume however is not waiting for Rogers to define him. Last week he sent out an extensive high quality full color mailing comparing Mike Rogers’ record with his own views.