Then-Rep.-elect Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., joins newly-elected members of the House of Representatives at the Capitol for an orientation program, in Washington, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Last week, WCPT’s Patti Vasquez spoke to Rep. Hillary Scholten, a Democrat representing a western Michigan district that had not elected a Democrat for more than 30 years when Scholten won the seat in 2022.

“One portion of my district, Ottawa County, has not been represented by a Democrat since the 1800s,” Scholten told Vasquez. The district, which includes Grand Rapids, is one of the congressional battlegrounds that Democrats hope to hold as they vie to retake the majority in the House.

Scholten cites reproductive freedom as one of the defining issues for voters in her district. “I specifically don’t talk just about abortion, because we’ve got birth control on the line, we’ve got IVF on the line,” Scholten said. She contrasted that with her Republican opponent, attorney Paul Hudson, saying he is “endorsed by extremist groups that want to implement a nationwide abortion ban.” One group that has endorsed Hudson is Citizens for Traditional Values, a Lansing-based nonprofit which has a mission of “mobilizing the pro-life, pro-family, pro-freedom community,” according to its website. Hudson’s campaign website makes no mention of his position on abortion.

Scholten, a native of Grand Rapids, said she’s been able to break through with voters in Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District because of the “deep level of trust” that comes with being born and raised in the community. “And I really just hear from so many of my constituents that they are so grateful for competent, steady-handed leadership.”

Below is a transcript of the interview.

Patti Vasquez: I am so thrilled to welcome our next guest. We have Congresswoman Hillary Scholten, who is joining us from western Michigan, the 3rd Congressional District. She’s running for reelection, and she is a fierce warrior for her constituents, regardless of which party they vote for.

And I love that about you. How are you doing, congresswoman?

Rep. Hillary Scholten: I’m doing great. Yep, that’s exactly right. And, you know, we are just 33 days from the election. And wow, we are feeling it here in west Michigan. It is truly a battleground. We’re right across the lake from you and, all roads to the majority run through Kent County, the heart of my district. And I’m the first Democrat in 50 years to represent this district in Congress. One portion of my district, Ottawa County, has not been represented by a Democrat since the 1800s.

Patti Vasquez: Holy cats.

Rep. Hillary Scholten: (Laughs.) Yeah, it’s pretty remarkable. But, you know, I talk a lot about — we’re building something new here in west Michigan, a new political home for folks on the right and the left who want to come together and just get things done. And that’s what I’ve been able to do in my first term, and I really hear from so many of my constituents that they are so grateful for competent, steady-handed leadership.

I think people are really done with the political drama and they, frankly, just don’t want to have to think about it anymore. They want grownups in the room. They want people to do what they need to do and deliver for families across the country who really need it.

Patti Vasquez: Absolutely. I love that. And congratulations on all that. And I’m glad that people are seeing that this can work. It sounds as though people cross party lines. And 2020 — so that would have been the 2022 election, yes?

Rep. Hillary Scholten: Yes, that’s when I was first elected.

Patti Vasquez: Excellent. I have to tell you, my first time to Grand Rapids was for LaughFest, Gilda’s Club LaughFest. I was one of the comics with Bob and Tom.

Rep. Hillary Scholten: Oh, awesome.

Patti Vasquez: Oh my God. I fell in love, absolutely fell in love with your town. I was just there last year. But I remember in 2012, when I was there, that I was really impressed with — already the work seemed to be in place to care for people. Because I have a child with disabilities, and the thing that struck me about Michiganders was how much they really do care about people. And it was sad to me that the politics was getting in the middle of it. It seems like you’re bridging that. How have you accomplished that with folks?

Rep. Hillary Scholten: I think a huge part of it is being from here. You know, when you’re born and raised in a community, there is such a deep level of trust that comes along with this elected position. People are willing to go along with ideas that you’re talking to them about, whether it’s “hey, let’s think differently about reproductive freedom,” “let’s think differently about LGBTQ rights” than anyone who has ever represented us before.

You know, people take note of that in a different way when they’ve been your Sunday school teacher or your second-grade teacher or your friends from school, parents or cousins. That kind of history created, through trust and a lifetime of knowing each other, really accounts for something. And I think the essential core of a representative is someone who knows their community and can speak with a clear voice on the issues that are facing them and where they are.

And when I chose to run, I had just left the Justice Department. I was not a political appointee. I was a civil servant. And I left because I saw the policies of the Trump administration firsthand, how they were upending the rule of law, flying in the face of justice. And I moved back home to west Michigan, I’d only been away for a few years, and I saw people who were rejecting this brand of extremism in the Republican Party like never before.

And I realized, you know, people were having the same sort of experience that I was, because we were raised in the same place; we kind of came to the same conclusions together. And they needed a new kind of representative who could really speak into this moment, because the Republican Party of today is not the Republican Party of years past, you know, of Gerald Ford, whose district this is, of Paul Henry. People are really looking for something new, and I’ve been so proud to be able to deliver that.

Patti Vasquez: I congratulate you on that and we’re grateful for it. Again, we’re talking to Congresswoman Hillary Scholten. You can go to hillaryscholten.com to find out about her race, because we do reach Michigan and other [states] — and look, we talk about these races. Is the Republican challenger a threat, or do we think we’re in good shape?

Rep. Hillary Scholten: Well, if and when I win reelection, I will be the first Democrat in history to win two full, successive terms in this district. So we’re not counting on anything, but I will say I’m overwhelmed by just the positivity and the excitement that we have.

You know, the guy I’m running against, he seems like a nice enough guy. He’s looking for his 15 minutes of fame. He moved to the district to run and — yeah. So we’re prepared for it. We’re ready to take it on.

One of the defining issues in this district is, you know, folks are concerned about their ability to make their own health care choices, particularly when it comes to reproductive freedom. And I specifically don’t talk just about abortion —we’ve got birth control on the line. We’ve got IVF on the line. These are health care choices that impact not only women but their entire families, right? When you are not able to have a family through IVF in the way that you had hoped, that’s a full family decision. And I think that people are seeing the extremism of today’s Republican Party [is] just totally out of step with where they are.

And my Republican opponent, he’s endorsed by extremist groups that want to implement a nationwide abortion ban. And of course, we’ve got Republicans all over the map saying, “Oh, you know, we wouldn’t do that, we wouldn’t do that.” That’s literally, exactly what Brett Kavanaugh said right before he voted to strike down Roe versus Wade.

So we’re attuned to their lies, their manipulation. We’re seeing every day that, you know, Republicans want to try to say one thing politically because they realize it’s expedient. But voters need to be incredibly attuned to what they’re actually saying, what their record is, so that they know — if they want a candidate who is going to protect their ability to decide when, how and even if to start a family, that needs to be someone who has a strong record of doing so and saying so over the course of many years, their entire lifetime.

And this is not just a fringe cultural issue anymore. I mean, women are dying in record numbers, especially in states where abortion bans have been implemented. The maternal death rate in Texas rose at a rate six times higher than other states that didn’t have a similar abortion ban in place. That’s data that just came out about two weeks ago. And it’s startling. We have to take it seriously. We don’t have to sort of try to start a five-alarm, you know, panic in everyone. But we need to meet this moment with the severity that it presents.

Patti Vasquez: Absolutely. It’s so gut-wrenching for me because we’ve been talking a lot about Project 2025, but we talk to folks like Jess Piper in Missouri, and, you know, Aftyn Behn in Tennessee. I mean, Project 2025 is already being implemented in those states. I traveled from Chicago to New Orleans by train, and the minute I left Illinois, I was the most unsafe — I felt unsafe in every single state I traveled through. And that was where I felt — I just — my heart just hurts for women and families living everywhere else.

Rep. Hillary Scholten: I know.

Patti Vasquez: And that’s why reelecting you and electing more Democrats to Congress and the Senate is absolutely crucial.

What is your sense in Michigan about adding more of those seats to the Capitol?

Rep. Hillary Scholten: Oh, I mean, we just – we’re seeing it here. You know, you mentioned one district in particular that we sent an extremist packing, and that’s happening up and down the ballot in West Michigan. I think that there are just incredible opportunities to reach out to these folks and get them to find new homes and such strong, talented representatives, up and down the ballot.

Patti Vasquez: What can we do to help? I know you’re on a tight schedule. What can we do to help you and other candidates like you that are fighting so fiercely for reproductive rights and, really, for the rights of all families?

Rep. Hillary Scholten: Yeah, well, you can go to my website, hillaryscholten.com. There [are] opportunities to sign up, volunteer, donate your time, your talent, your treasure — is incredibly helpful. You know, one of the things that we’re really seeing, especially when it comes to this, getting the message out about reproductive health and reproductive rights is that, by and large, a lot of journalists are willing to just sort of say, “Well, this person says they’re not going to implement a nationwide abortion ban,” but they’re not willing to look beyond that at their record. So it’s up to campaigns to use their own funds to get the message out about what the facts really are. We’re using every penny that comes in to get that message out, because this is truly a seat that could help determine the balance of power in Congress, you know, not only for my seat but the work that we do up and down the ballot for swing voters.

Patti Vasquez: I want to thank you so much for inspiring us, for reminding us of why we’re doing this, and for the work that you are doing. Thank you so much, congresswoman.

Rep. Hillary Scholten: Absolutely. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.