¶ How To Win Against Michael Bouchard, Jr.
Michael Bouchard Jr. thought he could win the MI-10 Republican nomination on family ties and supporting Trump’s agenda alone. One thing he made clear was that he was eager to be a rubber stamp for Trump’s agenda if elected to Congress, touting his support for Trump’s policies at every turn despite the detrimental impact they had on the 10th district. He said he wanted to “continue” Trump’s economy that was hurting Michiganders’ wallets and crippling the state’s economy, supported Trump’s “peace through strength” approach to foreign policy that Americans openly opposed and caused gas prices to skyrocket. Bouchard was also close friends with a Michigan county prosecutor plagued by sexual harassment investigations, and while Bouchard claimed to be running on his “experience,” he was openly recruited to run by his father (an influential figure in Michigan) and a team of influential Michigan Republicans while he was still deployed overseas.
¶ Bouchard Was Eager To Back Trump’s Agenda, Which Included Cutting Health Care For Michiganders
- Bouchard said he wanted to be Trump’s “ally” in congress. Trump was behind legislation that cut health care for 17 million Americans, including nearly 12 million Medicaid beneficiaries. As many as 200,000 Michiganders were at risk of losing their healthcare if the Medicaid cuts were enacted, including more than 35,000 Michiganders in the 10th Congressional district.
Message: Bouchard wanted to be another vote in Congress to kick Michiganders off their health care all to give billionaires tax breaks.
¶ Bouchard supported Trump, who spearheaded a bill that would trigger major cuts to Medicare
- Bouchard said he wanted to be Trump’s “ally” in congress. Trump fought for passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which would trigger nearly $500 billion in Medicare cuts absent future congressional action. 22.4 percent of Michiganders were enrolled in some sort of Medicare plan.
Message: Bouchard wanted to go to congress to support Trump’s agenda, which included a bill that would cut Medicare.
¶ Bouchard Supported Trump’s Agenda, Which Included weakening the social security administration and Cutting critical funding for Michigan
- Bouchard said he wanted to be Trump’s “ally” in congress. Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) weakened the Social Security Administration and cost Michigan hundreds of millions in federal contracts. DOGE cuts caused longer wait times, frequent website crashes, and mass layoffs in Social Security offices across the country. Effects from DOGE-era cuts lingered at Social Security offices across the nation even a year later. DOGE cuts to Michigan agencies left the state less able to respond to emergencies and pulled funding from an estimated 196 grants from Michigan University and Michigan State University.
Message: Bouchard was willing to back an agenda that weakened services for seniors and cut funding meant to support Michigan universities.
¶ Bouchard Wanted To “Continue” An Economy That hindered Michigan Businesses and raised costs
- Bouchard claimed Trump was “putting the right laws in place” to help small businesses thrive, and Trump’s tariffs were creating a “level playing field” for Americans. He said he wanted to “continue” the economy Trump created and claimed Trump’s economic agenda was benefitting MI-10 residents.
- Trump’s tariffs and economic agenda caused operational costs to rise for Michigan businesses and was particularly hurtful to the automotive industry, which relied on imported parts. After the tariffs were first enacted, Jeep’s parent company temporarily laid off 900 workers at plants across Michigan and Indiana.
Message: Bouchard wanted to continue raising costs on Michiganders and hindering Michigan businesses.
¶ Bouchard Stood With Trump As He Made Significant Cuts To Food Assistance Michiganders Relied On To Afford Groceries
- Bouchard said he wanted to be Trump’s “ally” in congress. Trump was behind the single largest cut to SNAP in history. The “One Big Beautiful Bill” they pushed through Congress included $186 billion in cuts to food assistance, which 46,043 households in MI-10 relied on.
Message: Bouchard would be another vote in congress for cuts to food assistance that Michiganders rely on to afford groceries.
¶ Bouchard Endorsed Trump’s “Peace Through Strength” Approach To Foreign Policy that Raised Costs On Michiganders
- Bouchard said he believed in Trump’s “peace through strength” approach to foreign policy and would continue fighting for that approach if elected to Congress. He was equally supportive of Trump’s war in Iran, claiming the war was evidence of Trump “putting our country first.”
- As a result of the war in Iran, the Michigan Farm Bureau warned farmers to expect rising costs through 2027. Fertilizer costs had risen sharply as a result of the war. Gas prices in the Detroit metro area averaged $3.93 per gallon and diesel averaged $4.93 per gallon. Bouchard supported the war despite opposition from Macomb County residents.
- Trump’s war in Iran was projected to cost Americans an extra estimated $235 to fill up their car with gas, and rising fuel costs resulted in corporations beginning to pass fuel surcharges onto American consumers. Americans were also primarily concerned with how the war would impact their wallet, with a Ipsos poll finding that 56 percent of Americas expected Trump’s war in Iran to have a “mostly negative impact” on their personal financial situation.
Message: Bouchard would be a rubber stamp in Congress to continue pursuing an agenda that made life less affordable for the people of MI-10.
¶ Bouchard Had A Close Relationship with Scandal-Ridden Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido
- Macomb County Prosecutor Peter (Pete) Lucido was a member of a super PAC created to support the recruitment and campaign of Bouchard while he was still deployed overseas. After Bouchard announced his bid for Congress, Lucido endorsed Bouchard and the two vowed to fight together to improve life for MI-10 residents.
- Lucido had a long history of scandal, beginning in 2020 when he was accused of sexually harassing three women while serving in the Michigan State Senate. The women accused him of inappropriately touching them and making highly suggestive comments about their bodies, causing a Senate investigation to be launched into Lucido’s behavior. The investigation found all three accusations credible and resulted in Lucido’s removal as chair of an influential Senate committee. A year after the investigation, a fourth woman accused Lucido of sexually harassing her.
- Scandal followed Lucido to the Macomb County prosecutor’s office, where in 2022 a report was released accusing Lucido harassing female employees, discriminating against attorneys in the office, and abusing the office’s resources for personal gain. The report, released after an investigation by a Detroit-based law firm recommended he undergo “multiple county-level trainings on civil rights and union rights.”
Message: If Bouchard won’t hold his friends accountable for wrongdoing, how can he be trusted to do the right thing in Congress?
¶ Bouchard Was Recruited To Run For Congress By His Father And Other Influential Michigan Republicans
- Bouchard wanted the residents of MI-10 to believe he was running on his experience, not his father’s legacy. What he conveniently avoided talking about was that his father and a group of influential Michigan Republicans formed a super PAC to recruit Bouchard to run for office while he was still serving overseas. Additionally, on his campaign website biography Bouchard spends the entire first paragraph talking about the achievements of his father and grandfather.
Message: Bouchard was another legacy politician planning to lean on his father’s name and connections to get into Congress.
¶ Issue Briefs
¶ Bouchard Supported Policies That Hurt Everyday Michiganders
Bouchard Was Eager To Back An Agenda That Included Cutting Health Coverage For Michiganders
Bouchard Was Ready To Defend Policies That Put Michigan Seniors At Risk
Bouchard Stood With National Republicans As They Cut Food Assistance For Michiganders
Bouchard Supported Policies That Raised Costs On Michiganders And Wanted To Continue Trump's Abysmal Economy
Bouchard Had A Close Relationship With A Scandal-Ridden County Prosecutor
Bouchard Claimed He Was Not Running On His Father's Legacy, But He Was Recruited By His Father And Other Influential Michigan Republicans