After flipping Michigan’s 4th District, McCann plans bipartisanship approach in Congress

As state Sen. Sean McCann prepares to make his way to Washington, the Kalamazoo Democrat is committing himself to listening and delivering for his constituents, whether they voted for him or not.

“We’re going to put together a top-notch constituent service organization in the district, one that doesn’t care if someone’s a Republican or a Democrat. We do everything we can to make sure that people get the full support that they need from the federal government,” McCann told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.

Riding the blue wave of Democratic lawmakers winning elections all across the country, McCann unseated U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Holland Township), who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2011.

The Associated Press called the race for McCann at 1:13 p.m. Wednesday. Unofficial results showed McCann with 50.1% of the vote and Huizenga with 48.3%.

With Democrats poised to take control of both chambers of Congress,, party leaders have taken these sweeping victories as a mandate from the American people to deliver the economic relief that President Donald Trump and Republicans promised in 2024.

However, delivering on that mandate could be difficult, as Trump retains control of the executive branch.

When asked about navigating that dynamic in Washington, McCann took inspiration from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“One of my role models, Governor Whitmer, has always said she’ll work with anyone to get things done,” McCann said, noting her willingness to work with the president as well as Republicans in Michigan to deliver for the state.

“That’s really what we think people expect at the end of the day, and my approach has been not about partisan bickering or trying to be divisive,” McCann continued. “It’s been returning to sort of that Carl Levin, Fred Upton model of working across the aisle when it makes sense, building relationships with your colleagues, whether they’re Democrat or Republican, because eventually you hopefully can work together to get results for the people that you represent.” 

As someone who’s served in the state Legislature as a member of the minority party, the majority party and under divided government, McCann said the Democratic majority still has to see if there’s a place to work with Trump to deliver for the nation’s residents. He also recognized that the balance of power could shift back toward Republicans if Democrats fail to deliver.

“We’ve got to hit the ground fast and running to show that we’re going to be able to keep those promises to people.”