Upset Brief · MI-04 · Sean McCann (D) vs. Bill Huizenga (R), incumbent
McCann can win. The plan uses 26 percent of what history allows.
50%
odds today
66%
odds with the plan
6,921
net votes to find
36
days left, ballots already coming in
Where
- 01+1,822PortageStarting line McCann +23. 7.7% split their ticket.
- 02+723KalamazooStarting line McCann +64. 4.8% split their ticket. About 7,843 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
- 03+719Texas Township (Kalamazoo County)Starting line McCann +10. 7.6% split their ticket.
- 04+570Comstock Township (Kalamazoo County)Starting line McCann +9. 7.5% split their ticket.
- 05+494Benton HarborStarting line McCann +93. 2.1% split their ticket. About 1,507 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
- 06+363Emmett Township (Calhoun County)Starting line Huizenga +18. 7.7% split their ticket.
The top 12 cities and townships carry 80% of the plan.
How
- P+5,899Persuade23,084 voters in play: ticket splitters now leaning Huizenga, plus the 7 percent still undecided in the latest poll.
- M+1,054MobilizeAt least 33,797 people who voted in 2024 but not in 2022, in cities and townships where McCann's side wins at least 55 percent.
- C+313ConsolidateVoters who went third party in recent races, in the cities and townships that lean McCann's way.
What has to be true
- McCann wins 13 percent of the ticket splitters and undecided voters now leaning Huizenga.
- In Kalamazoo and Benton Harbor, 9 percent of the people who voted in 2024 but skipped 2022 come back and vote.
- No national wave is required. The plan uses 26 percent of what recent Michigan results show is possible.
- The starting line comes from the published 2026 head-to-head polls between these two finalists, sponsored ones included; if the true gap is different, so is the plan.
The numbers behind it
- 01Crossover regression299 precincts, R² 0.990, 44 crossover precincts identified
- 02Monte Carlo20,000 seeded simulated elections with a 5-point baseline error. 90% range of the final margin with the plan: -21,840 to 36,026 votes.
- 03Money, FEC candidate totals through July 15McCann $1,686,240 cash on hand; Huizenga $2,268,747.
- 04Call program for this list11,620 households, 34,859 dials, about 1,827 live conversations: an estimated $5,185 at published rates.
Independent analysis by The Political Group from official Michigan Bureau of Elections precinct returns (2022 and 2024), FEC filings and published polls, as of September 27, 2026. Not affiliated with any candidate or party.