KALAMAZOO — Kalamazoo attorney Jessica Swartz is jumping back into campaign mode for the U.S. House after top Democratic leaders announced they were targeting Michigan's Fourth Congressional District to flip blue in 2026.

Swartz launched her campaign Wednesday, April 9, nearly three weeks after she hinted that she would run again at a Holland townhall hosted by the Ottawa County Democrats.

"I had the honor of being your nominee for Congress last year," Swartz told the crowd of more than 300. "We worked hard. We started at zero — zero name recognition, zero endorsements. And at the end of that, we were on national lists. Now the nation is looking at CD four, and we're going to take it back.

Read More: 'Missing in action': Frustrated constituents host townhall aimed at Huizenga

"You're going to hear a lot more from me in the next few months," she said at the March 20 event.

The townhall was organized by Democrats after U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, an eight-term Republican, didn’t respond to numerous calls from constituents to address their concerns in person.

Huizenga briefly addressed protestors at his Holland office March 29, saying: "I absolutely, 100% support the president."

Swartz, who lost to Huizenga by less than 50,000 votes in 2024, raised $1.1 million as a first-time candidate without any national support.

Now, key Democratic fundraisers and political analysts say the Fourth District is in play next year.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee earlier this month listed Michigan's Fourth Congressional District as one of its top targets headed into 2026. It's one of three seats in the state, with Republicans Tom Barrett (Seventh) and John James (10th) also key targets in next year's election cycle.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which provides analysis of elections and campaigns, updated Michigan's Fourth District from an +5 points for Republicans in 2023 to +3 for Republicans in 2025.

"There's no other choice. We have no other option but to fight," Swartz said at the March townhall. "If we don't fight now, we're gonna lose our republic, we're going to lose our democracy. We're going to lose our identity as Americans."

Democrats appear to be encouraged by recent wins in a state senate seat in Pennsylvania, where Trump won by 15 points in 2024, as well as picking up a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat where billionaire Elon Musk and his affiliated groups sunk $21 million into flipping the court to conservative control, only to see their candidate defeated by 10 percentage points earlier this month. 

But that doesn't mean it will be an easy race, Swartz said.

"I was talking to my daughter a couple of nights ago about this campaign cycle and how it's going to be harder and it's going to be uglier, and we could have some security situations — as much as that abhors me," she said at the townhall.

"And I said, 'But you know what? We need to keep fighting to keep our democracy great, to keep our country great.' Her response was, 'Well, it doesn't seem so great now.' And I said, 'That's why we have to fight. If we don't fight, the bad guys win."

Support Our Work

Ottawa News Network is a nonprofit news service dedicated to providing the residents of Ottawa County with trustworthy, community-driven news. ONN treats journalism as a public good — something that enriches lives and empowers Ottawa County’s 300,000-plus residents to stay engaged, make informed decisions, and strengthen local democracy. Please consider giving today.

Swartz was born and raised in West Michigan. Her mother was a public school teacher, and her father was a small business owner.

A former attorney for Western Michigan University, Swartz earned a law degree from the American University Washington College of Law and went on to be an appellate attorney for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 2018, Swartz worked with Michigan nonprofit Voters Not Politicians to ban both parties from partisan gerrymandering. The organization works with state legislators to pass what it calls "good-governance reforms to protect voting rights, strengthen our democracy, and ensure political power remains in the hands of the voters," according to the group's website.

"It's something that I feel very strongly about," Swartz said in 2023 when announcing her first candidacy. "Protecting the voters and protecting our election infrastructure."

Learn more at jessicaswartz.vote.

— Sarah Leach is the executive editor of the Ottawa News Network. Contact her at sleach@ottawanewsnetwork.org. Follow her on Twitter @ONNLeach.