According to 2024 U.S. Census data, Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District ranks among the poorest districts in the state, with roughly 13% of constituents below the poverty line.
A question candidates have not been able to escape on the campaign trail this midterm season is how they will bring down the cost of living.
Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar is running for a seventh term in Congress and has won over 60% of voters in his past four elections.
Democratic challenger Ben Ambrose, a Marine veteran and Harvard graduate, is running for public office for the first time and is confident he can flip the district blue this November.
With election day less than a week away, the political opponents are outlining how they want to address affordability if elected.
Investing in workers
Moolenaar stated the rising cost of living needs to be addressed, but it begins with giving people the opportunity to "prosper."
“Whether it's training or education that continue to help them develop their skills and opportunities with jobs,” he said during an interview with WCMU on Sept. 29. “We want them to be able to provide for their families and save some for the next generation as well.”
Since 2000, the United States has lost over 4 million jobs in manufacturing, according to the Federal Reserve.
The congressman said that the Working Families Tax Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, was the best thing Congress could've passed to boost manufacturing.
The bill included tax cuts for families and corporations but has received backlash for reforming Medicaid and food assistance programs.
Ambrose told WCMU on Oct. 14 that he believes that there are a number of actions to help boost the economy, such as investing in trade school programs
“We need to fund them and take better care of those institutions so that we can get folks in the middle class out there working today, adding into the economy,” he said.
Pain at the pump
As of late October, diesel prices are averaging around $6.70, according to AAA. The price of fuel has skyrocketed since President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran alongside Israeli forces in February.
The ongoing war and rising prices on fuel have remained a burden on Republicans ahead of the midterms.
Moolenaar said he wants gas prices to come down.
“We have a great agricultural district, and my goal is to get that (fuel prices) to come down as quickly as possible,” he said.
The congressman voted against three resolutions to rein in Trump's control over military action in Iran. He believes the resolutions were rushed and lacked sufficient planning.
“I don't want to tie the president's hands when it comes to dealing with a conflict like this,” Moolenaar said. “We saw what happens in Afghanistan when we leave without a plan and it creates just devastation.”
Congress has proposed several bills to provide tax incentives on fuel to help reduce prices. However, nothing has hit the House floor for a vote
Ambrose said he believes the war has no direction and criticized Moolenaar’s voting on the war.
“We're talking about the price of everything is going up. For what? For a war, we can't define what success is,” the former Marine said. “I have no problem with war. I have no problem sending folks to war. I do have a problem with doing it for wrong reasons.”
'Medicare for All' or only those who qualify?
Ambrose said one of his main priorities is “Medicare for All,” a movement predominantly pushed by Democrats to develop a nationwide program that would grant healthcare for all Americans.
Moolenaar said he opposes Medicare for All, stating that it would significantly increase taxes. The congressman said that competition between insurers allows consumers more choices for healthcare coverage and that work requirements to qualify for Medicare should remain in place.
“The work requirements, the volunteer requirements, those aren't burdens,” Moolenaar said. “Those are opportunities where someone can be engaged in the community, building relationships, developing skills and then be able to be more self-sufficient.”
Ambrose believes every American should be guaranteed health coverage, but said he would refuse to raise taxes for a Medicare for All program.
“The assumption there is that we're going to take every single person in the United States, throw them into this Medicare for All bucket and then that would require we raise taxes to pay for that,” he said.
I'm proposing smaller additions so that taxes don't have to be raised … we can examine, ‘Do we need to raise taxes or not?’ If we do, then that's not something I'm for doing.”
According to a poll by KFF, two-thirds of voters support a switch to a Medicare for All system.
A neighborhood dispute
A recent report from the Federal Reserve of New York shows that the Trump administration's ongoing trade war with Canada has increased the price of consumer goods.
When Canada imposed 50% retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. in September, Moolenaar joined other farm state Republicans in breaking away from Trump’s dispute with Michigan’s neighbor.
“He usually has a place of negotiation and will bring things to a resolution that will surprise people in the end," Moolenaar said. “But in the process, sometimes you think, ‘Is that being productive or is that counterproductive?’”
Canada's retaliatory tariffs have affected the price of timber, aluminum, dairy and agricultural products.
The National Taxpayers Union Foundation reported that households in Michigan have endured an additional $5,619 in costs since 2025 because of tariffs.
Ambrose said the trade war is damaging Michigan’s chances of developing more affordable housing due to the tariffs on Canadian timber.
“Because of those tariffs, Canada isn't sending us as much lumber,” Ambrose said.
Ambrose referred to an August report from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) that projected 350 to 400 fewer affordable housing units would not be built in Michigan due to tariffs.
Other candidates in this race include Green Party candidate Charlotte Magoon and Richard Sills of the Natural Law Party.
Magoon said she did not have availability for an interview and Sills could not be reached for comment for this story.
"The cost of living is unbearable, and crushing debt makes matters even more hopeless for so many," Magoon wrote in an email to WCMU. "I can’t honestly say there is an easy solution to this crisis, but if elected I can say with conviction that the first steps would involve stopping government corruption, which has been the biggest catalyst to our current situation."
The Cook Political Report currently shows the second district as solid Republican and in favor of Moolenaar. Ambrose says he has a chance because of Republicans' handling of the economy over the last two years.
According to the Secretary of State, nearly 19% of registered voters have submitted their ballots through the state's early voting options.
