(WXYZ) — After a tense primary against Andy Levin, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens is hoping to return back to Washington this November, running for re-election against a newcomer, Republican Mark Ambrose.
The two will face off for Michigan's 11th District, which is newly redrawn by an independent redistricting committee and includes a large portion of Oakland County.
Related: Michigan 2022 Midterm Elections: A guide for voters with races, ballot proposals & more
I sat down with both candidates to learn about their background, positions on major issues, and the message they have for voters.
Ambrose is an Army veteran turned financial analyst who went to Brother Rice High School, then graduated from West Point and Columbia. He said he's running for Congres after seeing his son with autism stuck in virtual school during the pandemic.
"I thought at that time that so many of these decisions are being made by one person and they're circumventing the legislature. Who should really be setting the rules that we live by?" he said.
Stevens is the incumbent. She graduated from Seaholm High School and American University and worked on the Auto Rescue Task Force under the Obama administration.
"I have served as the vice chair of the Science Space and Technology Committee, where I ushered the chips in and science legislation through the Congress, creating a fund to invest in chip manufacturing production right here in the US," Stevens said.
According to the Pew Research Center, the economy is what voters say is most important this election.
Ambrose said reckless spending, bad monetary policy and energy dependence have helped inflation soar.
"A lot of the rhetoric coming from the administration is that this is a global problem, was unavoidable. It was Russia's fault. No, we've made some really bad decisions that took us here," he said.
However, Stevens said she's proud of some of the work she did in Congress, and wants better private and public partnerships to encourage innovation, especially with electric and autonomous vehicles in Michigan.
"I'm so proud of the Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower the cost of prescription drugs, allow us to invest in those clean energy initiatives, as well as what I had mentioned with the Chips in Science bill addressing supply chain disruptions," she said.
Another important issue for voters is violent crime. In that same poll, 60% of voters listed it as very important. Stevens feels Congress should ban assault weapons, while Ambrose said we need better enforcement of current gun laws.
"Number one, we need to make sure that we stop this crazy rhetoric about defund the police. We need to support law enforcement across the board, whether that's at the border or in our communities. We need to make sure that we're doing that. We need to stop permissive bail law," Ambrose said.
"We need law and order. We need a plan for common sense gun safety legislation. I work alongside Moms Demand Action and a host of volunteers. I'm on the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force in the Congress. And this is a huge part of my mission," Stevens told us.
Another key difference between the two is their views on abortion. Stevens is for abortion rights and wants to see Congress make it a federal protection. Ambrose is anti-abortion.
"I am a co-sponsor of the Women's Health Protection Act. I believe that we should codify Roe v Wade as the law of the land. And this is just about freedom. This is just about bodily autonomy," Stevens said.
"I am pro-life. I'm pro-life with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. But I'll have a vote just as every other citizen will have a vote. I think broadly, we need to do a better job in this country to try to find common ground on this issue. We need to make sure that we educate our young people and try to avoid unwanted pregnancies to the greatest extent possible," he said.
Watch the full-length interviews for each candidate below.
Rep. Haley Stevens
Mark Ambrose
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