Republican John James Pushes for New Blood in Michigan Senate Race

A Republican candidate of U.S. Senate sparred with career politician Sen. Debbie Stabenow (R-Mich.) in a testy debate Sunday night.

“My opponent has been in service for 43 years,” said Iraq Ware veteran John James. “She’s a very nice lady, but I think over time she has become ineffective.”

During a time when the politically center-right has called for term limits in Congress, Stabenow defended herself by claiming that this is “not a time for inexperience.”

But James stayed on the offensive during the debate, often forcing Stabenow to take the defensive.

“We have a crisis in Flint with water. We have a crisis with PFAS when it comes to water,” he said. “I think we need to start looking ahead and starting thinking more about 2116 than 2016. We need the right leadership who understands how to bring people together, because again, bipartisanship is not a buzzword.”

“If you don’t get the right leadership to work with everybody and not just tow the party line, then we’re going to end up with water that’s more toxic in a generation than it is right now. We don’t need more lip service,” he said.

James also hit Stabenow for lack of action on Michigan’s infrastructure.

“My opponent has been a career politician for 43 years in a position to do something to fix these things. Line 5 is 65 years old. Why are we just now getting around to doing something about it? The pipes and the sewers and the roads are decades old.”