LANSING, Mich. — The primary election is less than a week away. Incumbent Kara Hope and first-time candidate Carlee Knott are the two Democrats on the ballot running to represent District 74 in the Michigan House.
Hope has lived in Holt for 17 years and has close ties to the community.
“I'm running to give a voice to the kind of people I grew up with, working people, people who don't always have their voices heard, who don't necessarily have a lobby, but who deserve to be heard nonetheless,” she said.
During her current term, Hope has focused on teacher attraction and retention and helped pass a budget that will provide extra money to schools in the district for mental health services.
“If I'm elected, or re-elected, I hope to continue to focus on public education, which is been a cornerstone for me, personally, I benefited from public education," Hope said. "I think it's one of the most important services that government provides is education, and supporting our teachers supporting our students.”
The other candidate, Knott, has worked for U.S. Sen. Gary Peters in his Lansing office, and she feels she has a lot to offer the community.
“The main goal of our campaign is to create a brighter future for people living in Michigan, and to really focus on building strong communities, and families that are healthy and safe, and financially secure,” Knott said.
If elected, Knott has a list of priorities she plans to work on, like passing universal health care, raising the minimum wage, prioritizing clean renewable energy and more.
“We need to reform our criminal justice system, and kind of change the way law enforcement interacts with people in our community. And we need to pass evidence-based, effective gun safety legislation to make our community safer,” Knott told FOX 47 News.
Albert Kelley Jr. was one of the democratic candidates, but according to his campaign treasurer, Edward Forrest, Kelley Jr. withdrew from the race earlier this month. There is one Republican candidate, Jennifer Sokol, who is moving straight on to the November general election.
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