Swartz focused on economy, accessibility in second bid against Huizenga for US House
After losing to Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Holland, by 11.7 percentage points in 2024, Swartz recently announced she'll again challenge Huizenga for the Michigan 4th Congressional District seat in 2026.
'We spent the last two years building up the tools and the foundation we needed,' Swartz told the Sentinel. 'This time we're jumping off from that foundation and we're gonna go even farther.'
Huizenga, a Republican, has been representing the area in Congress since 2011. He served Michigan's 2nd District from 2011-2023 before the state's redistricting and has served the 4th District since 2023.
More: Amid protests, frustration, Swartz launches second run against U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga
Swartz, an attorney from Kalamazoo, is looking to flip the seat for the Democratic Party. She sees 2026 as a different race than in 2024, when she lost to Huizenga by just under 50,000 votes.
'There's such so much energy on the ground right now, so many people who want to get involved and make a difference," Swartz said. "(The 2026 election cycle) I think is looking at a big change, as midterms always are for the party not in power, but this this feels even more different than any of the other ones. We're excited to to tap in to all that energy, try to focus it and try to get our government back.'
Huizenga has recently come under fire with a number of protests at his Holland office, with constituents upset with his refusal to do an in-person townhall, among other issues. Swartz attended and spoke at a recent townhall event hosted by Ottawa County Democrats.
'Right now he's just absent. It's hard to get people to vote for you when you won't even talk to them,' Swartz said of Huizenga. 'I do believe that very soon we're gonna see that economic pushback of this chaos and people are gonna realize that that was due to these actions of the people in power. Huizenga has backed President Trump's agenda every step of the way, and he's gonna have to speak to that.'
Swartz said the economy will be a focus of her 2026 campaign.
'I think that's a lesson that we learned from the last time around. Voters are just focused on how much it costs to live,' she said. 'When Huizenga ran for election, he promised that inflation would go down, prices would go down and the exact opposite has happened on both of those.'
Swartz noted protecting Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the environment will also be key points for the campaign. She's also concerned about how tariffs will affect local farmers.
'It's making it harder for our farmers to grow what they need to grow, and then it's gonna be even harder for them once they do grow it, to sell it," she said.
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Swartz said she'll look to be a voice for all of West Michigan as she pursues election.
"I'm going to continue continue working as hard as I possibly can to give a voice to the people in West Michigan,' Swartz said. 'I'm going to be out there and I'm gonna speak for everybody and I will listen to any reasonable position and, I don't care where it comes from, for the sole purpose of trying to make life better for people in the district and that is my goal. It always has but it always will be."
— Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @cassideykava.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Swartz focused on economy during rematch with Huizenga for US House
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