'Outsider' House primary winner sets sights on flipping longtime GOP seat back from Dems: 'Ready for a change'

Fresh off her Republican primary win, veteran meteorologist and Congressional candidate Terri DeBoer told Fox News Digital she is ready to flip the state's Third Congressional District back over to the GOP.

"The one thing that we're really hearing over and over again is people are ready for a change," DeBoer said of her bid to unseat incumbent Dem. Rep. Hillary Scholten. "They are ready to be represented by someone who shares the same common sense West Michigan values as they do, and I'm the best candidate to fill the bill."

DeBoer, a 61-year-old mother of three who worked for several television stations in western Michigan over a 30-year career, is looking to shake up a district that was held by Republicans for decades before Scholten seized it in 2022.

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DeBoer said the Democratic Party has lost its way and is aligning with candidates who undermine what "makes America so great."

Looking beyond her own race, DeBoer pushed back when asked whether Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate primary victory signals growing support for a progressive agenda within the Democratic Party.

"What I hear when I knock on doors, when I walk down the street, when I'm at the grocery store, people say, ‘Thank you. Thank you for being willing to step forward in a common sense way to represent our values, because quite simply, the other side is no longer representing the values of West Michigan,’" she said.

El-Sayed, a far-left progressive, narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in one of the nation's most closely watched Democratic primaries last week.

"I believe that when people truly understand what is at stake here, the very future of America and the freedoms that we have enjoyed, that I think the choice is very clear," she said.
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DeBoer added there is a disconnect between Scholten's "moderate" image on the campaign trail and her voting record in Congress.

"I believe the biggest point of contrast, quite frankly, is that for the last few campaign cycles she has campaigned as though she's a very moderate individual, and yet her voting record in Congress is in stark contrast to that," she said.

Scholten’s vote against the SAVE America Act and her support for "boys in girls' locker rooms, boys in our girls' sports" are examples of this contrast, according to DeBoer. Scholten voted against a bill that would ban transgender women and girls from competing on female school sports teams in January 2025, according to U.S. House voting records,

But DeBoer, who previously told Fox News Digital she considers herself an outsider in this race, said her positions are more closely aligned with voters and that she would bring "common-sense values" to Washington if elected.

Turning to the issues driving the race, DeBoer said affordability is the most pressing concern as the costs of groceries, energy, housing and healthcare rise. Her campaign website also lists securing the border, expanding healthcare choice, supporting reliable energy and reducing regulations on small businesses among her priorities.

"People are working harder than ever before and feeling like they’re falling behind everything," she said.

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To address the higher costs, DeBoer called for cutting "reckless" federal spending and eliminating government waste, fraud and abuse "that robs all of us of the economic freedom that we have in America."

"We really need to make America affordable again," she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Scholten's campaign for comment.