DETROIT – Michigan’s Democratic candidate in a key race for control of the U.S. House of Representatives was an ardent supporter of the “defund the police” movement following the death of George Floyd in 2020, criticizing police officers as a “structure created to oppress.”
Kristen McDonald-Rivet, who will run against Republican Paul Junge for Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, made the scathing remarks in a Facebook post on June 3, 2020 – just over a week after Floyd was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis.
“Tonight’s protest in Bay City. We cannot stand in silence,” wrote McDonald-Rivet, 54, alongside a photo of a protest showing dozens of people lying face down on the ground with their hands behind their backs.
“George Floyd was murdered while pleading for his life and calling for his mother. This happens again and again in cities across the country, born of a structure created to oppress,” she continued.
“Small gestures won’t fix this. We need a complete overhaul now. Demand action. Go vote. Silence is betrayal.”
According to Bridge Michigan, Michigan’s 8th Congressional District – which includes Flint and is currently represented by outgoing Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) – is expected to be one of the most competitive races in the country.
The Cook Political Report classified the November election as a tie.
In Michigan’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, the Democrats currently have a narrow majority of 7 to 6.
McDonald-Rivet’s rival said he was disappointed by his opponent’s hasty words.
“It was insensitive and completely wrong,” the 57-year-old boy told the Post.
“To say that the police system was created to oppress is insulting. It’s designed to protect people, and Kristen just doesn’t seem to understand that.”
In Flint, Michigan’s fourth-largest metropolitan area, the number of murders has increased by a disturbing 40% compared to last year, according to the latest crime statistics.
Junge said his opponent should have “shown better judgment,” especially in such a heated situation.
“She didn’t say that when she was 19,” the Republican candidate said. “She was an adult, she had a professional background and she should have shown better judgment.”
Michigan’s progressive governor Gretchen Whitmer has supported McDonald-Rivet in her campaign for a seat in the House of Representatives.
A day after McDonald-Rivet protested Floyd’s death in Bay City, Whitmer violated her own COVID-19 social distancing order and marched shoulder-to-shoulder with protesters in Highland Park, a small suburb of Detroit.
In 2020, McDonald-Rivet was still in the private sector, working for a nonprofit organization. In November 2022, she ran for and won a seat in the State Senate, representing the Bay City-Saginaw area. She had been in office for less than a year when Assemblyman Kildee announced he would not seek re-election.
McDonald-Rivet won the Democratic primary, replacing Representative Kildee, and defeated two of her fellow Democrats.
If she wins in November, she will miss a Democratic vote in the Michigan Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow 20-18 majority.
McDonald-Rivet did not respond to a request for comment.
