(FOX2) – Democrat Carl Marlinga concedes to Republicans john james before the race for Michigan’s 10th Congressional District was called by the Associated Press.

Marlinga released a statement with James ahead 51.1% to 44.9%:

“While this is not the outcome we were hoping for, I am incredibly grateful to the people who stood by me throughout this campaign for their support and commitment. This race was more than a seat in Congress; it was about standing up.” We ran to protect our shared values ​​of Social Security and Medicare, to defend reproductive rights, and to ensure that every voice in this district is heard, and even if we cannot win, I will always continue to champion the fight on these issues. Shout out to working families in Michigan’s 10th District; “We may not have won the race, but our vision for a fairer, stronger future for all Michiganders is as strong as ever.”

James won his first re-election bid, defeating Marlinga for the council seat that covers most of Macomb County and northeastern Oakland County. In 2022, James won the seat by just 1,600 votes.

More election results: Follow more races here

James, long seen as an up-and-coming Republican, spoke at the Republican National Convention over the summer and made clear his priorities at the time: immigration and the economy.

“America was sold on hope, and now the world is on fire, our borders are wide open, and Americans are going into debt to pay for their groceries. Once again, we can have a country where a child’s outcome is not determined by his or her zipper. Once again, by the rules, hard work really gets you far.” “We can have a country, a country where you can once again move from poverty to prosperity in a single generation.”

A graduate of Brother Rice High School, James is a graduate of West Point and served in the Army for eight years and deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom. He first ran for political office in 2018 when he challenged Sen. Debbie Stabenow for the seat. Two years later, he took on Gary Peters for the other Senate seat, but was unsuccessful there as well.

The seat was targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats. This was seen as one of 31 GOP-held seats that the DCC believed it could flip by “aggressively targeting” this election.

James has long been viewed as a rising star in the Republican Party and a front-runner to run for Debbie Dingell’s open U.S. Senate seat in the state before announcing she was seeking re-election.