Race · November 3, 2026

U.S. House · Michigan's 5th District

5 candidates on the ballot.1

§1Candidates

Why this matters: Every candidate the state lists for this race on the November ballot, in the state's own order.

Christian Vukasovich
Democratic Party · Challenger
Tim Walberg
Republican Party · Incumbent
Currently represents Michigan's 5th District in the U.S. House.
Ronald A Muszynski
Libertarian Party · Challenger
Sharon Marie Renier
U.S. Taxpayers Party · Challenger
Jim Bronke
Green Party · Challenger

§2Side by side

Why this matters: The same facts for every candidate, in the same order. Where we found nothing for a candidate, the cell says so — that means we didn't find it in public sources, not that it doesn't exist.

Scroll sideways on small screens. Select a name for the full page.
Christian VukasovichTim WalbergRonald A MuszynskiSharon Marie RenierJim Bronke
Party on the ballotDemocratic Party1Republican Party1Libertarian Party1U.S. Taxpayers Party1Green Party1
StatusChallengerIncumbent2ChallengerChallengerChallenger
Raised$151,704 through October 14, 20263$2,220,379 through October 14, 20264$1,130 through October 3, 20265Not found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checked
Cash on hand$39,5173$1,179,9664$5725Not found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checked
Outside spending$1,694 for · $0 against6$11,759 for · $0 against7Not found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checked
Trade agreementsHis campaign website says he supports strengthening Buy America requirements, investing in American manufacturing and supply chains, and pursuing fair trade policies that keep good jobs in Michigan.8His campaign website says he works with members of both parties to open world markets to goods made in Michigan, favors trade that is both fair and free, and will oppose any agreement that is not fair and free for the state's workers and manufacturers.9Not found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checked
Iran's nuclear program and sanctionsNot found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checkedHis campaign website says every government intelligence agency agreed that Iran was keeping its end of earlier nuclear negotiations, and lists ending endless wars among its main issues.10Not found in the public sources we checkedHis campaign website says the United States must place itself in good relations with other nations such as Iran.11
Health insurance systemHis campaign website says he supports a Medicare for All Plus plan that would give every American access to quality care while letting people keep coverage they value, and would lower costs by negotiating prescription prices, cutting unneeded administrative costs, expanding preventive care and capping out-of-pocket costs.8His campaign website says he is pushing for policies such as buying health insurance across state lines, more flexible health savings accounts, curbing lawsuits it calls abusive, and giving people who buy insurance the same tax treatment corporations get, and that he helped pass the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act and has voted many times to protect people with pre-existing conditions.12Not found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checked
Federal spending levelsNot found in the public sources we checked
Cut overall federal spending
His campaign website says he has voted for budgets that it says sharply reduce the deficit, helped pass the Rescissions Act to take back more than $9 billion in spending it calls wasteful, and supported funding bills meant to reverse spending levels set under President Biden.13		His campaign website lists balancing the budget among its main issues and criticizes the size of the national debt and its yearly interest cost.10Not found in the public sources we checkedHis campaign website says government must get its spending under control.14
Data privacyHis campaign website says he supports requiring government agencies to get a warrant before buying Americans' personal information from data brokers, and firm limits on how tech companies gather, keep and sell people's data.8Not found in the public sources we checkedHis campaign website lists surveillance among its main issues, saying government and big business record and store people's calls, texts, emails, digital purchases and travels, that AI and data centers let that data be analyzed quickly, and that Republicans and Democrats alike back such surveillance except where their own privacy is concerned.10Not found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checked
High-speed internet accessHis campaign website says he supports expanding affordable high-speed internet to every community, with strong consumer protections on pricing, speed, data and service quality.8His campaign website says he will continue to support expanding broadband access to rural areas and has backed efforts to find underserved areas and improve their access.9Not found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checked
Veterans' disability and survivor benefitsHis campaign website says he supports protecting and strengthening the benefits veterans earned through their service, making VA health care and benefits easier to get, and expanding mental health and substance-use treatment for veterans.8His campaign website says he has voted to raise cost-of-living adjustments for veterans' benefits.15Not found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checkedNot found in the public sources we checked

Issues only one candidate has addressed

By candidate, in ballot order. We found nothing public from the other candidates in this race on these issues.

Christian Vukasovich — 13 issues
  • Farm payments and crop insurance
    Expand price supports, crop insurance or emergency aid
    His campaign website says he supports expanding crop insurance and disaster protection for family farms, along with stronger antitrust enforcement against concentrated agribusiness and lower costs for fuel, fertilizer, equipment and repairs.8
  • Visas for farmworkers
    His campaign website says he supports expanding agricultural and seasonal worker programs and ensuring farm and seasonal workers have safe working conditions, fair pay and basic workplace protections.8
  • Voting Rights Act protections
    Restore and widen protections by law, such as federal approval of voting changes in places with a history of discrimination (for example, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act)
    His campaign website says he supports restoring federal protections against discriminatory voting rules.8
  • Federal minimum wage
    His campaign website says he supports raising the federal minimum wage to reflect the cost of living.8
  • Union organizing rules
    His campaign website says he supports protecting the right to organize and collectively bargain.8
  • Student loan forgiveness
    Add targeted relief, such as more forgiveness for public service workers or through income-based repayment
    His campaign website says he supports recruitment grants, student loan forgiveness, fair wages and training for nurses, doctors, first responders and other health care workers, especially in rural communities.8
  • Campaign finance rules
    Limit spending by outside groups, including by amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens United
    His campaign website says he supports passing an amendment overturning Citizens United, creating public financing of elections and giving states more power to curb the influence of wealthy special interests.8
  • Drawing district lines (redistricting)
    His campaign website says he supports banning partisan gerrymandering.8
  • Stock trading by members of Congress
    Ban members and their spouses and dependent children from owning or trading individual stocks
    His campaign website says he supports barring members of Congress, the executive branch and the Supreme Court, along with their immediate family members, from trading individual stocks or cryptocurrency, with meaningful penalties for breaking the ban.8
  • Child care costs
    His campaign website says he supports expanding childcare tax credits.8
  • Food assistance (SNAP)
    His campaign website says he supports protecting SNAP and institutional purchasing programs, which it describes as dependable markets for farmers.8
  • Help for first-time homebuyers
    His campaign website says he supports expanding assistance for first-time homebuyers, along with building and preserving affordable housing and protecting renters from unfair practices.8
  • Legal status for immigrants here without permission, including Dreamers
    His campaign website says he supports earned pathways for workers who clear background checks and pay their taxes.8
Tim Walberg — 16 issues
  • Abortion law
    His campaign website says he believes wholeheartedly in the sanctity of life.16
  • Religious exemptions
    His campaign website says he will stand up for religious institutions and for people with sincere beliefs so the government cannot make them act against their conscience.16
  • US Department of Education
    His campaign website says he voted for the Every Student Succeeds Act, which it says moved power and resources from federal education officials in Washington to states and local schools, on the view that local educators and school boards know best how to teach students.9
  • Federal agencies' power to write rules
    Require Congress to approve every major new rule before it takes effect
    His campaign website says he voted for legislation to stop federal agencies from creating costly regulations without approval from elected representatives.9
  • Voter ID
    His campaign website says he was an original cosponsor of the Save Democracy Act, which it says would set requirements for federal ballots such as proof of identification and a ban on ballot harvesting.17
  • Permitting for energy projects
    His campaign website says that, as a member of the Natural Resources Committee, he has helped advance legislation to speed up American energy production by reforming the permitting system.18
  • Same-sex marriage
    Recognize only marriages between one man and one woman
    His campaign website says he believes marriage is defined as the union of one man and one woman.16
  • Carry permits across state lines
    Require every state to accept other states' permits
    His campaign website says he has cosponsored legislation for concealed carry reciprocity, which it says would make a carry permit valid in other jurisdictions.17
  • Border wall and barriers
    Build walls or fencing along much more of the border
    His campaign website says he voted for what it calls the largest border security investment in history, which it says pays for the border wall, aims to stop the flow of fentanyl and upgrades border technology.19
  • Income tax on Social Security benefits
    His campaign website lists no tax on Social Security for 88% of seniors among the provisions of the Working Families Tax Cuts law he supported.18,19
  • Social Security benefit levels
    His campaign website says he is committed to preserving and strengthening Social Security and Medicare and that he introduced a lockbox bill to keep the money people paid into those programs from being used for other purposes.13,16
  • Balanced budget amendment
    Add a balanced budget requirement to the Constitution
    His campaign website says he has voted for a Balanced Budget Amendment so that the federal government would have to spend no more than it takes in.13
  • Fraud and improper payments in federal programs
    His campaign website says his Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act, put into effect in 2024, created an online list of federal programs and their costs to make waste easier to spot, that he has worked to root out waste, fraud and abuse across the federal government, and that as chair of the Education and Workforce Committee he has guided bills through the House targeting fraud in student aid and child care programs.13,19
  • Taxes on tips and overtime
    His campaign website says he supported the Working Families Tax Cuts law and lists no tax on tips and no tax on overtime among its provisions.18,19
  • Rules for artificial intelligence
    His campaign website says he has led the Education and Workforce Committee's examination of artificial intelligence, sees a need for guardrails to protect Americans, and has introduced legislation to study AI's effects on the workforce so Congress has the data to legislate.19
  • Private care for veterans
    His campaign website says he is working with members of both parties to make the VA more accountable and to give veterans more choices in their health care.15
Ronald A Muszynski — 1 issue
  • Federal Reserve independence
    His campaign website lists ending the Federal Reserve, along with auditing the gold reserves and balancing the budget, among its main issues under the heading Monetary Debasement.10
Jim Bronke — 7 issues
  • Discrimination protections for sexual orientation and gender identity
    His campaign website says sensitivity toward all people allows for no discrimination because of race, color or sexual orientation.11
  • Tariffs
    His campaign website says the country has little choice but to put tariffs on goods, that they should be phased in gradually, and that tariff levels should be tied to the percentage of trade with each nation so trade can rebalance.20
  • Ranked-choice voting
    Use ranked-choice voting in more elections
    His campaign website says the two-party system is failing and winning candidates should get a majority of the vote, points to Maine and Alaska as states using ranked-choice voting, and links to a campaign to put it on Michigan's ballot.21
  • Nuclear power
    His campaign website says he will support solar, wind and nuclear power improvements as alternatives that reduce carbon dioxide.22
  • Military spending
    Cut military spending
    His campaign website says military spending should be the biggest target in the national budget, that the country should have fewer bases around the world and work more closely with allies, and that it can spend more on drones because they cost much less than conventional aircraft.23
  • Who decides on military action
    Require Congress to approve military action in advance, except to defend against an attack
    His campaign website says the Constitution gives only Congress the power to declare war, that an international agreement the country signs becomes the law of the land, and that the country should abstain from war against another nation if the United Nations Security Council does not approve.24
  • Immigration enforcement inside the country
    His campaign website says he does not support what ICE is doing in the country, and that illegal immigration is best dealt with at the border rather than within cities and communities.11

Issue statements are drafted by AI from the public sources cited, and only cover what each candidate has said publicly.