Democratic group goes after Junge on abortion in new ad

WASHINGTON ― The U.S. House Democrats' campaign arm launched its first attack ad of the election cycle in Michigan on Wednesday, targeting Republican Paul Junge and trying to paint him as an extremist on abortion.

Junge of Grand Blanc Township won the GOP primary in Michigan's 8th District last week, setting up a face-off with Democratic state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet of Bay City in November.

The district, which is rated a tossup by political handicappers, covers Genesee, Bay and Saginaw counties, and portions of Midland County, including the cities of Bay City, Flint, Midland and Saginaw.

"Paul Junge ran for Congress twice and lost, but he's so obsessed with banning abortion that he's running again. Junge says women's rights are simply made up: 'Made-up rights, like we see in Roe v. Wade,'" the narrator says, using a video clip of Junge from a 2020 debate in Howell.

The 30-second spot, part of a six-figure buy in the Flint market, goes on to say Junge could be the "deciding vote" for a national abortion ban in Congress that would void the constitutional protections for the procedure that Michigan voters adopted through a ballot initiative in 2022.

Junge's campaign didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Junge last month told The Detroit News that he is anti-abortion but wouldn't support federal restrictions in Congress that conflict with Michigan's constitutional amendment broadly protecting access to abortion.

"I'm not going to try to change what the Michigan voters set up," he said.

Since his last campaign two years ago, Junge also revised his position and now supports exceptions to abortion in cases of rape or incest. "I've changed my mind," he said.

Junge is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who earlier this year said he wouldn't sign a national abortion ban if he wins the White House again, saying the matter should be left to the states.

The 8th District seat is up for grabs in November because U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, decided not to seek another term.

The new ad from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee suggests that McDonald Rivet and her allies are going to continue to hammer the abortion issue this fall. She is backed by EMILY’s List PAC, which supports Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights. McDonald Rivet also ran an ad during her primary campaign about reproductive rights.

Junge and McDonald Rivet have already traded attack ads, with him targeting her on immigration and her calling him a "California trust fund millionaire," an approach similar to Kildee's playbook against Junge in 2022. Junge lost to Kildee by more than 10 percentage points.

The DCCC is just one of several outside groups expected to spend in the race.

Other national groups have made substantial TV, cable and digital reservations in the Flint market for the fall, including $1.11 million by the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP's campaign arm; $1.48 million by House Majority PAC, which has ties to the House Democratic leadership; and $2.3 million by the Congressional Leadership Fund, the group endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana.

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