Christina Hines flips Michigan’s toss-up 10th District blue

Democrat Christina Hines defeated Republican Mike Bouchard in the race to replace Rep. John James (R-MI) in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District.Hines garnered 52% of the vote compared to Bouchard, who won 45% of the vote, according to the Associated Press, which called the race at 12:26 p.m. on Wednesday.The Democrat’s win flips James’s GOP-held seat, which he held for two terms before deciding to run for Michigan governor. The race was one of several toss-up races of the 2026 cycle, handing a crucial win to Democrats as they look to take back the House from Republican control. Hines and Bouchard went toe-to-toe on their policies over issues including affordability and public safety, with Hines leaning on her record as a prosecutor while Bouchard pointed to his veteran history as an Army National Guard captain throughout the race.Bouchard highlighted economic policies in his campaign, such as suspending Michigan’s state and federal gas taxes, cutting red tape for small businesses, and bolstering Michigan manufacturing jobs.Hines slammed President Donald Trump’s tariff policies throughout the campaign, saying she would fight to put Congress in charge of U.S. trade policy and also take aim at corporate price gouging to bring down prices for consumers.The two candidates also sparred over their statements about the war in Iran, with Hines claiming her Republican opponent backs the war, even though Bouchard called for the war to end.Hines called their alleged stratified views on Iran “one of the biggest differences between me and my opponent,” saying in mid-October, “I want to end the war and lower costs for families here in MI-10.”But Bouchard quickly fired back on social media, writing, “I look forward to making sure this war comes to a just end.”“I have been clear: the war in Iran needs to end,” Bouchard wrote on X. “We need to bring prices at the pump down, we need to bring grocery prices down, and we need to make housing more affordable. I have called for a suspension of the State and Federal gas tax, my opponent has not. I have helped negotiate the end of military involvements abroad, like what we just saw in Iraq, I helped lead those negotiations.”The two also varied in the issues they platformed, with Hines saying she would commit to ending Citizens United v. FEC and “getting money out of politics,” while Bouchard backed Trump’s border policies and said he would help finish the southern border wall.AOC PUMPS $1 MILLION INTO EL SAYED’S SENATE CAMPAIGNBouchard, the son of a local Oakland County sheriff, was endorsed by Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), while Hines had the backing of several Democratic leaders, including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).The district was rated as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report and had voted for Trump by more than 6 points in 2024.