U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar chats with Midland County republicans as supporters gathered for an Election Night watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at The H Hotel in Midland. Moolenaar was declared the victor in the Michigan District 4 U.S. House of Representatives race, according to the Associated Press. Michigan's Fourth Congressional District includes Osceola County. (Katy Kildee/kkildee@mdn.net)
OSCEOLA COUNTY — U.S. Congressman John Moolenaar won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives for Michigan’s Fourth District, according to the Nov. 3 unofficial election results.
Moolenaar defeated Democratic challenger Jerry Hilliard for a second time — the first being in 2018.
With 97% of precincts reporting in Michigan, Moolenaar received 65.2% of the vote, or 234,324 votes, while Hilliard received 32.2% of the vote, or 115,663 votes. A total of 359,458 votes were cast in the District.
“I want to thank the voters of mid- and northern-Michigan for trusting me once again to represent them in Washington,” Moolenaar stated in a news release. “I am honored by their support and I will continue my bipartisan work to address the issues facing our nation.”
“There’s a lot of work to do and my priorities will be helping Michigan families, defeating the virus, safely re-opening the economy, supporting our farmers and protecting the Great Lakes,” he added.
Moolenaar said it was a different kind of campaign this year because of the concerns of the coronavirus.
“Typically, in Michigan we have parades and festivals, and county fairs, where we are out meeting with people, interacting and talking about the issues,” Moolenaar said. “Because of concerns about making sure people are safe, a lot of those events were cancelled. We still tried to do what we could to reach out to voters through zoom meetings and small group outdoor gatherings, and I feel good with the outcome.”
Over the last two years, Moolenaar said, they have made progress on the “Better Way Agenda,” including tax reform and regulatory reform that has helped encourage investment, and passage of the USMAC Trade Agreement.
“The USMAC has been very positive for agriculture and farming with new markets being developed and having access to Canada, as well as more manufacturing being done here in Michigan through some of the trade agreement requirements,” he said.
“I think those contributed to a thriving economy,” he added. “I think our agenda was strong and our economy benefitted from it. And then the coronavirus hit and changed the dynamic.”
Moving forward, Moolenaar said he will focus on getting the coronavirus pandemic under control and re-opening the economy.
“I am very pleased with the progress we have made on developing new medicines that will help prevent, as well as treat, the coronavirus,” Moolenaar said. “Defeating this virus is job one. We have to restore our way of life and that means keeping people healthy, defeating the coronavirus, and rebuilding our economy.
“I think it is so important going forward that we try to work together for the good of the American people,” he continued. “We want to make sure we are preserving and renewing the American dream, making sure our communities are safe, our constitutional liberties are protected, and our schools and small businesses thrive.”
This is Moolenaar’s third re-election, having been first elected in 2014.
In 2018, Moolenaar defeated Hilliard with 62.6% of the vote, or 178,510 votes, to Hilliard’s 37.4% of the vote, or 106,540 votes, out of a total of 285,050 votes cast.
In 2016, he defeated Democratic challenger Debra Wirth with 61.2% of the vote to Wirth’s 32.8% of the vote.
Michigan’s Fourth Congressional District includes Clare, Clinton, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, Missaukee, Ogemaw, Osceola, Roscommon, Shiawassee and Wexford counties, as well as parts of Montcalm and Saginaw counties.
