Michigan MI-08 House2018
RACE AT A GLANCE
RACE TYPE
Incumbent running
Mike Bishop (R)
COOK PARTISAN VOTING INDEX
Last updated : Apr 3, 2018Key Dates
Filing Deadline: Apr 24, 2018
Primary Election: Aug 7, 2018
INCUMBENT
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INCUMBENT
Full Bio:
BISHOP, Michael Dean, a Representative from Michigan; born in Almont, Lapeer County,
Mich., March 18, 1967; graduated from Rochester Adams High School, Rochester
Hills, Mich.; A.B., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1989; J.D.,
Detroit College of Law (now Michigan State College of Law), East Lansing,
Mich., 1993; lawyer, private practice; realtor; business owner; member of the
Michigan state house of representatives, 1999-2002; member of the Michigan
state senate, 2003-2010, majority leader, 2007-2010; unsuccessful candidate for
nomination for Michigan state attorney general, 2010; unsuccessful candidate
for election as Oakland County, Mich., prosecutor, 2012; elected as a
Republican to the One Hundred Fourteenth and to the succeeding Congress
(January 3, 2015-present).
Source: Bioguide
CANDIDATES
Democrats
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Independents / Other Parties
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DISTRICT DATA
Michigan - 08
East central: Flint, Saginaw, Bay Cities
Population Breakdown
Source: American Community Survey 2015
Past Presidential Results from this District
2016 Election Results
Source: Dave's Redistricting/VEST
2012 Election Results
Source:
RACE ANALYSIS
The Bottom Line
Updated: Aug 24, 2018
The Detroit suburbs are an important House battleground. Two-term GOP Rep. Mike Bishop didn't have a well-funded opponent in 2014 or 2016, but that's changed this year. Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who grew up in a well-known meatpacking family in rural Holly and served three tours in Iraq as an Arabic-proficient CIA analyst, has raised over $2 million and ended March with more cash on hand than Bishop.
The 8th CD combines Republican-leaning areas of Oakland County with the liberal state capital of Lansing. In 2016, it voted for President Trump 51 percent to 44 percent, while Bishop took 56 percent against a young prosecutor who got a late start. But in 2018, Democrats will finally have the resources to litigate Bishop's record, and multiple private surveys depict Bishop in weak shape.
Slotkin will contrast her service in sensitive areas of the world with Bishop's lengthy political career. Prior to his election, Bishop served as majority leader of the state Senate and made several enemies for trying to block construction of a new bridge to Canada at a prominent donor's behest. Democrats will also go after Bishop's votes in favor of the GOP's healthcare and tax bills.
Slotkin's most glaring vulnerability is the "carpetbagging elitist" label: she moved back to Michigan from DC in 2017 after wrapping up her post as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense and hadn't been registered to vote in Michigan since she left for college at Cornell University. But her cash advantage means she'll likely get to define the terms of debate just as much as Bishop.
Race Analysis
Updated: Jul 26, 2026
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