Michigan GOP group wants Bouchard to run for Congress. But not the Bouchard you're thinking of

Melissa Nann Burke, The Detroit News on Jul 24, 2025

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DETROIT — A new group of Michigan Republicans launched Thursday with the aim of recruiting and encouraging Michael Bouchard, son of the Oakland County sheriff, to run for Congress to succeed GOP U.S. Rep. John James in one of the state's most competitive U.S. House districts.

Twenty elected leaders and business people signed on to serve as advisers to the Draft Captain Mike Bouchard committee, a super political action committee, in a show of support for Bouchard, who is currently deployed with the U.S. Army overseas and due back this fall.

They're focused on Michigan's 10th District that covers southern Macomb County and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County, where James is serving his second term but running for governor.

Bouchard's supporters include Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido; former Michigan Republican Party Chairman Bobby Schostak; former ambassador David Fischer; Martin Manna of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and Chaldean Community Foundation; Macomb County Treasurer Larry Rocca; and Sheriff Bouchard, as well as business leaders from the construction and automotive industries.

"We need a proven America First fighter representing Michigan’s 10th Congressional District in Washington ― and Captain Michael Bouchard is the right candidate to get the job done,” Lucido said in a statement.

“I’m excited to see so many prominent Michigan Republicans and business leaders join us in this effort."

Bouchard, 31, of Rochester Hills has served in the U.S. Army since 2017 following his graduation from Michigan State University.

He is the operations officer for a Michigan Army National Guard battalion currently deployed on a joint task force in the Middle East. He has previously served as a military intelligence officer in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg and as an infantry officer in the 101st Airborne Division, according to a biography.

No well-known Republicans have jumped into the race to succeed James yet, while a crowd of Democrats are vying for the primary nomination in the district.

Several Republicans have expressed interest in the contest, including state Rep. Joe Aragona, assistant prosecutor Robert Lulgjuraj of Sterling Heights and former Oakland County GOP Chairman Rocky Raczkowski of Troy.

Lulgjuraj, 32, of Sterling Heights works for the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office and told The Detroit News this month that he plans to launch his campaign in early August.

Both parties are targeting the 10th District, and the eventual GOP nominee will potentially face of mountain of outside money in the midterm election, with $17 million spent on last year’s race, excluding party committees, according to OpenSecrets.

Bouchard as a candidate could benefit from his father's name identification, and his military service could be attractive to the Republican base.

James, also an Army veteran, defeated Democrat Carl Marlinga of Sterling Heights last fall by about 26,000 votes, or 6 percentage points.

His margin over Marlinga the previous cycle was much tighter when the contest was the third-closest U.S. House contest in the country. James won by about 1,600 votes, or 0.5 percentage points.

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