Ex-MMA fighter announces bid for Michigan congressional seat in battleground district

Former mixed martial arts fighter Josh Bitterman is running for Congress in a battleground district that Republicans had long represented until 2018.

Republican Josh Bitterman is stepping into the ring of the 11th District Republican primary election for a chance to take back the seat from Democrats.

The newly drawn 11th District covers Farmington Hills, Oak Park, Pontiac, and West Bloomfield Township.

The 41-year-old Bloomfield Hills native is a small business owner and what his campaign calls a “former state-champion MMA fighter.”

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, 38, currently holds the seat, which she won in 2017, defeating Republican Lena Epstein by 6.2% points. The seat was previously held by two-term Republican Dave Trott.

In the Democratic primary, Stevens is facing U.S. Rep. Andy Levin, 61, of Bloomfield Township, who represents the 9th District. Under the new districting maps, Levin now lives in the 11th District.

U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, who is not running for reelection, endorsed Stevens.

Beyond buzz words, it’s not entirely clear where Bitterman stands on critical issues. In an op-ed published in The Detroit News on Monday, Bitterman says he supports “transparency, accountability, humility, and compassion.”

“While we must be open, honest, and direct about our challenges and what it will take to overcome them, we need to return to a healthier dialogue that embraces listening to one another,” he writes. “What is happening now is unacceptable and unsustainable.”

Bitterman hails himself as a political outsider “with experience creating jobs in the real world.”

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