As Huizenga hosts US Energy Secretary, McCann campaigns with Whitmer and Slotkin

A hotly competitive U.S. House district in Southwest Michigan saw a flurry of activity from two opposing candidates on Thursday.

In the morning, U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Holland Township) joined U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright for a press conference at the Palisades nuclear plant, a once shuttered facility in Covert, Michigan, which could be the first nuclear plant in the country to resume operations following a $1.5 billion loan announced under President Joe Biden’s administration.

In the afternoon, state Sen. Sean McCann’s (D-Kalamazoo) campaign hosted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) in Kalamazoo for a canvassing launch in support of Democrats at the state and federal level.

Over the past year, Huizenga’s 4th Congressional District has shifted from a likely win for Republicans to a complete toss-up, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. 

During the visit, MLive reports that Wright praised Huizenga and other Republicans who have embraced the Trump administration’s policies, while Huizenga spoke out against state efforts to transition to 100% clean energy resources by 2040.

While there were no new announcements from the Trump administration Thursday, Huizenga defended the visit to reporters as one focused on policy rather than politics when asked whether the secretary’s visit was related to the upcoming election.

In Kalamazoo, Slotkin reflected on the 2022 election, in which Democrats successfully flipped the 3rd Congressional District, centered on Grand Rapids, previously considered to be a Republican stronghold.

If Democrats are able to turn Huizenga’s district blue, Slotkin said, that sends the message that “when Democrats compete, they win.”

Whitmer also praised McCann, who served in the state House of Representatives for four years and has served in the state Senate for nearly eight years.

“I love Sean McCann,” Whitmer said. “He has been a phenomenal partner, and this community is lucky to have him.”

While Whitmer reflected on the gains Democrats made in Lansing on issues like reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights and expanding access to early childhood education and community college, McCann said there’s more work to be done at the federal level.

McCann’s campaign noted that the money which was funding the restart of the Palisades plant came from 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act, which Huizenga voted against.

“Bill Huizenga voted against the federal financing helping reopen Palisades. Now he’s showing up for the cameras to celebrate the very investment he opposed. You can’t vote no on Michigan jobs and then take a victory lap when those jobs come back, McCann said in a news release.

The state senator also criticized Huizenga for his votes against congressional war powers resolutions to end the war in Iran, his support for the president’s tariff policies and his refusal to request congressional spending for projects within the district.

Huizenga spokesman Calvin Moore hit back in a statement to Michigan Advance.

“Gretchen Whitmer wanted a 45-cent gas tax hike and pushed extreme energy mandates that are doubling energy bills across Michigan, so of course ‘Tax Man’ Sean McCann is campaigning by her side,” Moore said in a statement. “Tax Man McCann has spent his entire career raising taxes and making life more expensive for Michigan families. Now he wants to go to Washington so he can do it all over again.”

The Michigan Public Service Commission, which regulates energy companies and their rates, has pushed back on arguments that clean energy is raising energy prices, calling them a myth. 

“The growth of renewable energy in Michigan has saved more than $948 million in fuel costs — primarily for natural gas and coal — over the last 20 years because a majority of renewable energy produced in Michigan is from wind and solar, which have zero fuel costs,” the commission’s website states, noting that the main driver of energy costs in the state, is the need for upgrades to improve grid reliability.