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Michigan's 6th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Republican primary)

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2022
2018
Michigan's 6th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: May 8, 2020
Primary: August 4, 2020
General: November 3, 2020

Pre-election incumbent:
Fred Upton (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Michigan
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Lean Republican
Inside Elections: Likely Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Michigan's 6th Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th11th12th13th14th
Michigan elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

A Republican Party primary took place on August 4, 2020, in Michigan's 6th Congressional District to determine which Republican candidate would run in the district's general election on November 3, 2020.

Incumbent Fred Upton advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 6.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
May 8, 2020
August 4, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election, the incumbent was Fred Upton (Republican), who was first elected in 1986.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Michigan utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1][2]

This page focuses on Michigan's 6th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Michigan modified its primary election process as follows:

  • Candidate filing procedures: The petition signature requirements for select primary candidates was reduced to 50 percent of their statutory requirements. The filing deadline was extended from April 21 to May 8.
  • Voting procedures: Absentee ballot applications sent automatically to all registered voters in the primary election.
  • Political party events: The Democratic Party of Michigan canceled its state convention, originally scheduled for March 21, 2020.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.


Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 6

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Fred Upton
Fred Upton Candidate Connection
 
62.7
 
53,495
Image of Elena Oelke
Elena Oelke
 
37.3
 
31,884

Total votes: 85,379
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[3] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.

Image of Fred Upton

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office: U.S. House of Representatives (Assumed office: 1987)

Submitted Biography "Congressman Fred Upton - known more commonly as "Fred" - is a sincere, hardworking leader who listens to all perspectives and achieves results for folks here in Southwest Michigan. In the midst of these challenging times, Fred has helped rush coronavirus relief to southwest Michigan families, is working to protect Michigan seniors, and is fighting in Washington to help get our economy on the road to recovery. Meanwhile, Fred has also continued his efforts to support our extraordinary veterans, protect our country's national defense, preserve our Great Lakes, and increase opportunities for our agriculture industry. In D.C. and here at home, Fred is known for his work ethic and has consistently been named one of the "Top 25 Hardest Working Members of Congress." He delivers results for the folks he represents - always has and always will. Fred is a graduate of the University of Michigan and remains a die-hard Wolverines fan. He and his wife Amey of 37 years are the proud parents of two children and just had their first grandchild earlier this year."


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


Follow the words of Frederick Douglass: "I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong."


Get Michigan and the United States on the path to recovery


Work to make our nation stronger for ALL Americans

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Michigan District 6 in 2020.


District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+4, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 4 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Michigan's 6th Congressional District the 200th most Republican nationally.[4]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.06. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.06 points toward that party.[5]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[6] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[7] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Fred Upton Republican Party $3,646,564 $3,494,801 $187,875 As of December 31, 2020
Elena Oelke Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[8]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[9][10][11]

Race ratings: Michigan's 6th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely RepublicanLikely Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. NCSL, "State Primary Election Types," accessed October 7, 2024
  2. Michigan.gov, "Questions and Answers: Michigan’s Presidential Primary," accessed October 7, 2024
  3. Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  4. Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  5. FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  6. Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  7. Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  8. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  9. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  10. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  11. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Democratic Party (8)
Republican Party (7)