Chris Lopez will face Dave Prestin in November: Only one will make 108th State House District

ESCANABA, Mich. (WLUC) - The 108th District for the Michigan House of Representatives picked its Republican nominee this week. It’s been 12 years since a Democrat represented the district, but its boundaries have changed.

Republican Dave Prestin will face Democrat Chris Lopez in November for the 108th District State House Seat. Prestin won Tuesday’s primary with 43% of the Republican vote.

“We just continued to work our way. We ended up knocking on every door in Gladstone, Escanaba, Wells Township,” said Prestin.

This seat is held now by Beau LaFave, but he can’t run again because of term limits. The last time a Democrat represented the 108th District was in 2010.

Despite the odds, Lopez is confident he will win the November election.

“I wish Dave Prestin the best of luck in his campaign and after the election. I look forward to running against him and I look forward to serving the people of Michigan after November,” said Lopez.

The 108th District will be different this election. Dickinson county is now split between the 110th and 109th. The new 108th includes Menominee, Delta, Schoolcraft, Luce and the western portions of Mackinac and Chippewa counties.

Delta county is 40% of the voting population followed by Menominee with 25%.

Four Republicans ran in the primary, including Mark Simon, Casey Hoffman and Kurt Perron. Simon says he enjoyed meeting everyone in the district.

“When I started this campaign, I promised myself I would leave everything on the field. I feel I did the best I could so I have no regrets,” said Simon.

Even though Hoffman fell short, he believes he helped future generations.

“It will be unremarkable for LGTBQ+ people to embrace conservative values and unremarkable for LGBTQ+ kids to identify with an openly gay leader. I think that is truly, truly, remarkable,” said Hoffman.

Perron also shared his closing remarks.

“I will move forward with hope in my heart and optimism for tomorrow as I vow to continue to work for a better future for us all,” said Perron.

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