Trump endorsed in '24 by all of Michigan's Republican members of Congress

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that he has picked up the support of every Republican member of Michigan's U.S. House delegation.

“We're proud to announce our full endorsement of President Donald J. Trump,” said a joint statement released by U.S. Reps. Tim Walberg, of Tipton, Bill Huizenga, of Holland Township, John Moolenaar, of Caledonia, Jack Bergman, of Watersmeet, and Lisa McClain, of Bruce Township.

Their statement continued: "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.”

Trump eked out a narrow win over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016, beating her by less than 11,000 votes or about two-tenths of a percentage point. In 2020, he lost to President Joe Biden in the state by about 154,000 votes, or about 3 percentage points, but falsely claimed that he lost the state, among others, due to fraud.

The state's other Republican congressional member — U.S. Rep. John James, of Shelby Township — added his own statement endorsing Trump, saying, "President Biden has wrecked our economy, let our position as the sole world power slip and opened our borders. ... 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."

More: From presidential candidates to alien lifeforms, Michiganders evenly split, poll shows

The Free Press doesn't typically report endorsements but in this case is doing so because it indicates the increasing likelihood that Trump, while facing legal challenges involving documents found at his residence after leaving office and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, will be the Republican nominee in 2024. The fact that all of the state's Republican members of Congress chose to endorse the former president this year — despite a field that includes former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former ambassador Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott from South Carolina among others — is suggestive of the strength Trump retains in the party.

Still, Trump has had little success in Michigan since that 2016 win over Clinton, which helped propel him to the White House. In last year's midterm, his chosen statewide candidates all failed and Democrats took over both chambers of the state Legislature for the first time in decades.

Michigan is playing a role in Trump's attempted comeback, however. Last month, he spoke at a dinner thrown by the Oakland County Republican Party.

Given the strong Republican lean to all but one of the members' districts, the endorsement is unlikely to cause any issues for them. The only one who is in a toss-up district is James, where Trump won in 2020 but only by about 1% of the vote.

Democrats quickly moved to use the endorsement against James, with Courtney Rice, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington, saying, "James' endorsement of the twice-impeached former president makes clear he is just another extreme MAGA (Make America Great Again, Trump's political slogan) Republican who is unfit for office and would rather appease his political base than make life better for everyday Michiganders.”

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump endorsed by all of Michigan's Republican members of Congress