An attorney by trade, Scholten ran against Meijer in 2020 and lost by 6 points. But in running against Gibbs this cycle, Scholten believes she can tap into the more “compassionate, moderate” base of Republicans in western Michigan, where Republican politicians like Gerald Ford used to be beloved fixtures of district politics.
“The contrast could not be starker between me and my opponent—and, you know, the consequences of who wins this election more severe,” Scholten told The Daily Beast in a phone interview Thursday.
Just as Wasserman’s shift in forecasts pointed out, there’s no denying that Meijer losing is a disproportionate point in Scholten’s favor for courting swing and moderate voters. Scholten claims she’s already begun to see support from former Meijer supporters over the past week.
“The morning after the election, we had over a dozen emails by noon, and phone calls to our campaign from Peter Meijer supporters saying that they wanted to get involved in our campaign,” she said.
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