EXCLUSIVE: Michigan GOP congressional candidate Paul Junge seemingly kept active Ashley Madison account

Paul Junge, the social conservative running in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District with an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, appears to have kept an active Ashley Madison account in the 2010s while single.

The 2015 Ashley Madison leak includes a “John Paul Junge II” registered with an email that Junge used in his 2024 candidate filing data as well as many other personal details that match the candidate, including the exact same addresses he lived at and his mother’s maiden name. 

While many Ashley Madison accounts were only used once for registration, the account seemingly logged in several times in 2015 after first registering in 2011.

A Heartland Signal review of the leaked credit card transaction data found that the Junge account spent over $500 on Ashley Madison. Twice — first after registering in July 2011 (on July 8, 2011) and then again on Jan. 28 2015 — Junge’s account was charged $249 from Ashley Madison. That coincides with the price for the “Affair Guarantee Package,” which included 1,000 credits for communicating with other Ashley Madison users.

The Junge card was then used three times between February and May of 2015 (Feb. 27, March 29 and May 28) for $19 each. There were no credit packages worth that amount, but $19 was the cost of purging personal data from Ashley Madison, indicating that the account owner was likely trying to close the account.

The account believed to be associated with Junge primarily looked to engage with married women – with Junge seeking to have “discreet good times and maybe explore even more.” Although Junge was not and is not currently married, this alleged association is a striking contradiction that undermines his credibility as a candidate championing the “sanctity of family.” 

Junge’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Junge, endorsed by Trump and backed by influential endorsements from groups like the Susan B. Anthony List and Citizens for Traditional Values has positioned himself as “A Fighter That Michigan Families Can Trust.”

Republicans have long touted themselves as the defender of traditional family values, and under Trump, that narrative has become all the more intense. Extreme wings of the party, such as Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance and Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers (R-Elgin), are pushing for legislation through which no-fault divorce would be eliminated, framing it as a means of protecting families. Critics argue that it can put women and children at risk by preventing them from escaping domestic violence.

The stakes are high in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, a region that reflects a diverse array of opinions on family and marriage – and could ultimately decide the fate of which party controls the House. Junge’s opponent, state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City), has been sounding the alarm on Junge’s hypocritical and extreme views, telling supporters last month that “He doesn’t know us, and he does not understand families who work hard to make ends meet. His extreme policy positions would threaten everything from social security to the right to abortion.” 

Rivet’s campaign also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

As personal scandals continue to rock MAGA Republican candidates like North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson, the question remains as to whether or not these candidates’ pasts represent their social conservative base.