Editorial: Our choice for Congress from the 4th District

For a guide to The Detroit News endorsements in all races so far, click here.

Michigan’s 4th Congressional District extends from just above Lansing all the way to the northern lower peninsula. It includes rural areas and cities such as Mount Pleasant, so there are a diverse range of issues for which voters need a keen representative in Congress.

We suggest voters re-elect incumbent Republican John Moolenaar for his experience and fiscal responsibility.

Before Moolenaar was elected to Congress in 2014, he represented voters on the Midland City Council, the Michigan State House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate.

We feel his challenger, Jerry Hilliard, does not have the necessary management or leadership experience to take the issues of the 4th District to Congress; he has never held public office. 

Furthermore, Hilliard’s passion issue is to rebuild the middle class, and to do so he recommends raising the minimum wage and strong unions. His simplistic solution to such a multifaceted issue shows an idealism we think won’t actually solve the problems of the middle class. 

Hilliard teaches economics at community colleges, but he still claims that Medicare for All is the best health care system for America's future. His answer to the looming national debt crisis is simply to invest federal money where it will return value.

Moolenaar, on the other hand, has voted for a balanced budget amendment which would limit the amount of spending to what the government has available. 

For these reasons, we suggest voters reelect John Moolenaar for Michigan’s 4th Congressional District.

Endorsements are determined independently by The Detroit News Editorial Board and have no influence on news coverage.