Former President Donald Trump received endorsements from the entire Michigan Republican Congressional delegation Tuesday and gave all six Republican representatives who threw their support behind him positions on his Michigan federal leadership team.
GOP Reps. Tim Walberg, Bill Huizenga, John Moolenaar, Jack Bergman, Lisa McClain, and John James gave Trump their full support for the 2024 race, saying the former president proved his ability to win key battleground states such as Michigan after he became the first Republican to win the state since George H.W. Bush in 1988.
“Under the Trump presidency, America was prosperous, the economy was strong, the world was a safer place, and Michiganders were better off. President Trump has proven he has the ability to deliver results on Day One and also the ability to win in key battleground states like Michigan, being the only Republican to win a Presidential race here since 1988,” Walberg, Moolenaar, Bergman, and McClain said in a joint statement released by Trump’s team.
James, a freshman in the House who many believe is a rising star in the Republican Party, praised Trump’s administration for helping middle-class families live comfortably during his time in office, something James said the Biden administration has failed to achieve.
“President Biden has wrecked our economy, let our position as the sole world power slip, and opened our borders. Biden’s policies have been particularly detrimental to Michigan’s middle class,” James said. “Under President Trump on the other hand, inflation was at 2%, the American family was strengthened through the child tax credit and other pro-family policies, and our communities were more secure. In 2024, we need to give hope to Americans who feel like their government is failing them.”
Trump won the Great Lakes State in 2016, narrowly edging out Democrat Hillary Clinton by just over 10,000 votes. The 2016 election was a short-lived victory in Michigan for Trump and the Republican Party, however, as the former president lost the state to Joe Biden in 2020, and Michigan Democrats took full control of the state government in the 2022 midterms.
The Midwest state will be an important battleground for whoever takes the Republican nomination as the winner of Michigan has gone on to win the presidency in each of the past four elections. Trump is currently dominating the large field of GOP candidates, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis coming in second as his closest challenger, but the Republican governor remains more than 30 percentage points behind Trump, according to Real Clear Politics polling average.
The former president has received endorsements from ten Republican senators and 67 Republican House members, including the Michigan delegation that most recently came out in support of him. Meanwhile, DeSantis has pulled in five endorsements from sitting congress members, including staunch conservative Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Chip Roy (R-TX).