Democrat Jessica Swartz Launches Campaign for Congress in Michigan’s Fourth District
Former Department of Veterans Af airs Attorney Seeks Rematch Against Bill Huizenga In DCCC-Targeted District
KALAMAZOO, MI - Today, public interest attorney and West Michigan native Jessica Swartz announced her campaign for Congress against Rep. Bill Huizenga in MI-04. A working mom and attorney who served at the Department of Veterans Affairs helping cut fraud, waste, and abuse, Swartz launched her race with a focus on working families’ bottom lines.
“Michigan workers power the world, but Washington politicians like Bill Huizenga are making it harder and harder for families in Southwest Michigan to get by,” said Swartz. “Huizenga’s tariffs are a $6 trillion tax hike that are drastically increasing prices on Michiganders at the worst possible time. I’m running for Congress because we can bring down costs, safeguard Social Security and Medicare, and create opportunities for the middle class, we just need a representative focused on delivering for Michigan families instead of special interests in Washington.
Swartz, who raised $1.1 million during her last campaign for Congress, is jumping into the race soon after Huizenga pledged his support for Donald Trump’s unpopular tariffs, calling them “absolutely” the “right thing to do.”
“Prices were already too high, and now career politician Bill Huizenga’s making them even higher while injecting chaos into our economy,” said Swartz. “West and Southwest Michiganders deserve a representative who’s laser-focused on bringing costs down, getting inflation under control, creating good-paying jobs, and making sure every working family can retire with dignity. From Day One in Congress, I’ll bring a working parent’s perspective that our current Congressman has completely lost.”
About Jessica Swartz
Hard work is in Jessica Swartz’s DNA. Born and raised in West Michigan by a public school teacher and small business owner, Jessica got her first job at age 13. She went on to become a Division One rower at Michigan State University, picking up shifts in the school cafeteria and local restaurants when she wasn’t at practice or studying.
After graduating from American University Washington College of Law, Jessica worked as an appellate attorney for the U.S. Department of Veterans Af airs, making sure veterans got the benefits to which they were entitled by cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse. Jessica waited tables on nights and weekends to pay down her student loans and mortgage.
In 2007, Jessica married her husband, Jamie, a former Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. They moved back to West Michigan to be close to family and raise their daughter. She continued her work for VA at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center before taking a job at Western Michigan University, where she specialized in free speech cases and served as Deputy General Counsel.
In 2018, Jessica worked hard to ban both parties from partisan gerrymandering with the nonpartisan organization Voters Not Politicians. She was also a girl scout troop leader and spends her Sundays at St. Thomas More Catholic Parish Church.
In 2024, Swartz ran for of ice for the first time, raising $1.1 million. She improved on Democrats’ 2022 showing in the district despite a far more dif icult climate that kept national organizations on the sideline.
Follow her campaign online: JessicaSwartz.vote, Facebook, & Twitter (@JessicaforMI).
About MI-04
Michigan’s Fourth Congressional District spans six counties with urban, suburban, and rural communities. It is home to a number of manufacturers, higher education institutions, and family farms. Its biggest population center is Kalamazoo, where Swartz lives.
MI-04 has a PVI of R+3 and joins MI-07 and MI-10 as one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s 2026 “Districts In Play” in Michigan during a midterm where Democrats are already overperforming. In the most recent midterm election, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson each won this district at the same time the district voted to enshrine a woman’s right to choose into the Michigan state constitution (Proposition 3).