Two Republican candidates and a pair of Democrats will appear on the Aug. 6 ballot. The winners of each party’s nomination will square off in November for the U.S. House seat representing the entire Upper Peninsula and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula.

On the Republican side, a pair of veterans will face off: incumbent Jack Bergman and challenger John Saul.

The Democratic candidates are Callie Barr and Bob Lorinser.

Many of the candidates, despite their party differences, agreed on topics such as the war in Ukraine, the economy needing to improve, and the need to preserve and protect the Great Lakes, but they differed on topics such as Israel’s war against Hamas and the role the U.S. should take in that war.

CALLIE BARR

All of the candidates agree that people’s money doesn’t go as far as it used to, as inflation has increased the prices of food, home supplies, housing, gasoline, and health care.

Most agree that diplomacy is the best solution to help reach peace in Russia’s war against Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas.

Each candidate also vowed to fight for the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facility in Alpena, should federal cuts or closures ever be considered.

Bergman, a Republican from Watersmeet who’s served four terms in Congress, said the Joe Biden administration’s policies have pushed the country backward economically. He said rising interest rates, inflation, and energy costs fall directly at the feet of the Democratic president and Democrats in Congress.

Bergman said Biden’s policies on energy have been one of the main culprits in rising costs and excess spending. He said Biden’s war on fossil fuels led him to vote against the Inflation Reduction Act, which included money for the construction of a new lock in Sault Ste Marie.

NAME: Jack Bergman AGE: 77 LIVES IN: Watersmeet OCCUPATION: retired Marine general; four terms in Congress FAMILY: married, five children

Bergman said he’s always supported the construction of the new shipping lock, but he said some of Biden’s proposals in the expansive legislation would take money out of northern Michigan and cost residents more because of elevated energy costs

“It had what we call ‘poison pills’ in it that would have negatively impacted the district, and any bill that takes money away from the people I can not support,” Bergman said. “You don’t bring down inflation by basically shutting down an entire industry like energy. Biden’s war on energy caused a spike in gas and oil, which impacts production, trucking, and raises the cost of everything.”

In August 2022, the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan federal agency that provides budget and economic information to Congress, said the bill would barely make a dent on inflation in the near term — and could even nudge it upward.

Bergman said many things in the bill had nothing to do with lowering inflation and included large expenditures, and the Budget Office’s prediction was on point.

“The name of the act was a trick, because all it did was increase the cost of everything,” he said.

NAME: Josh Saul AGE: 32 LIVES IN: Roscommon OCCUPATION: accountant FAMILY: married, one child

Bergman’s primary challenger, Saul, a Republican from Roscommon, said his experience in the military and his faith in God would help on many fronts.

He said he believes the U.S. has strayed from its values and needs to return to its founding ideals, which he says are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Saul said he will fight for accountability in government and vote for laws that strengthen the nation’s borders and improve veteran care while protecting the way of life for residents in northern Michigan.

“I decided to run because I fought and almost died in Afghanistan and I came home and I realized the rights I was fighting for weren’t being protected in this country,” Saul said. “I feel that God pulled me in this direction and, since I got in it, I really began to understand why. It’s because I have a skillset that I think is unique for solving the problems of today’s time.”

Saul said Bergman deserves to be called out on the nation’s growing debt, because the incumbent sits on the House Budget Committee and has been unable to put a dent in reducing the debt. He said Bergman also needs to be held accountable for America’s current economy.

“I believe you should do the job you are supposed to do, and there have been some massive failures, not only over the last four years, but for the last eight years,” he said.

Lorinser, a Democrat from Marquette, said many in Congress are so consumed by party politics that they refuse to — or choose not to — work with their peers. He said Bergman has shown an inability to work across the aisle to find common ground on issues from which people would benefit.

He said Congress needs a higher level of cooperation and compromise.

“The work isn’t done, yet, and I think people in the district would like to see robust infrastructure, reliable connectivity, rail service, affordable child care, high quality education and vocational training, affordable health care, and livable wages,” Lorinser said.

Lorinser added that he couldn’t rule out tax increases, especially if Biden allows former President Donald Trump’s tax cuts to expire. He said taxes are necessary to pay for things residents need and want. He said lower taxes will never help the country get out from under the massive debt that has accumulated.

“Taxes are necessary,” he said. “There needs to be a way to increase revenue.”

Lorinser’s primary opponent, Barr, a Democrat who lives in Traverse City, said she can bring ideas from the 1st Congressional District to the nation’s capital. She said she is confident she could work across party lines and have honest conversations with people about northern Michigan and its needs.

Barr said her number-one priority is to put more money into everyone’s wallets so they can pay their bills, which have been increasing. She said her answer is to place higher taxes on millionaires and billionaires.

“People see it every day when they go to the grocery store,” she said. “We know some food is like three times more expensive than it was two years ago. Prices are going up, but wages aren’t increasing along with that, and folks are pinched. When you have folks taking private trips to outer space and you can’t afford to feed your family, that’s a problem.”

All of the candidates agree Congress should do more for education and invest in curricula that address up-and-coming technologies, as well as science, technology, engineering, and math — often called STEM — and skilled trade careers.

“We need to do a better job of encouraging and empowering kids to do the things they are good at doing,” Barr said. “Just because a kid wants to be an electrician doesn’t mean he should be left behind because it isn’t the path for everyone.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com.