Terri DeBoer eyes GOP comeback in Michigan race

Terri DeBoer is using her Republican primary win to launch a push for Michigan’s Third Congressional District, arguing the seat should return to GOP hands after two years of Democratic control. The longtime West Michigan meteorologist said voters want a different voice in Washington and believe the district needs representation rooted in what she calls common sense West Michigan values.

DeBoer, 61, spent three decades working for television stations in western Michigan before entering politics. A mother of three, she told Fox News Digital that the message she hears most often is that people are ready for a change. She said residents want someone who reflects their outlook and added that she sees herself as the best person to meet that need. Her target is incumbent Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten, who won the district in 2022 after Republicans had held it for decades.

DeBoer also took aim at the Democratic Party more broadly, saying it has drifted away from the values she says matter to West Michigan. She pushed back on the idea that recent Democratic primary results signal a stronger appetite for progressivism, even as she pointed to conversations with voters at doors, on sidewalks and in grocery stores. In her telling, those interactions show a deep frustration with the direction of the other party and a sense that the current representation no longer matches the district.

A major line of attack for DeBoer is Scholten’s political image. She said Scholten has campaigned as a moderate while voting differently in Congress. DeBoer cited Scholten’s vote against the SAVE America Act and her opposition to legislation that would bar transgender women and girls from competing on female school sports teams. Scholten voted against that bill in January 2025, according to U.S. House voting records. DeBoer framed those votes as proof that the congresswoman’s public posture does not line up with her record.