Paul Hudson

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Paul Hudson

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Cornell University, 2003

Law

Georgetown University Law Center, 2006

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal website

Personal LinkedIn

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Paul Hudson (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 3rd Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Paul Hudson earned a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 2003 and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2006. His career experience includes working as an attorney, Sixth Circuit Advisory Committee on Rules chair, American Bar Association Appellate Practice Committee membership and diversity chair, appellate practice and litigation section council for the State Bar of Michigan, and as editor-in-chief for the State Bar of Michigan Litigation Newsletter. Hudson has served on the board of directors for the Duffy Daugherty Memorial Award and Goodwill Industries of Southwest Michigan.

Elections

2024

See also: Michigan's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024

Michigan's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 Democratic primary)

Michigan's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Michigan District 3

Incumbent Hillary Scholten defeated Paul Hudson, Louis Palus, and Alexander Avery in the general election for U.S. House Michigan District 3 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hillary Scholten (D)	53.7	225,510
		Paul Hudson (R)	43.8	183,952
		Louis Palus (Working Class Party)	1.3	5,546
		Alexander Avery (L)	1.3	5,281

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 420,289
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 3

Incumbent Hillary Scholten defeated Salim Al-Shatel in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 3 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hillary Scholten	90.6	64,546
		Salim Al-Shatel	9.4	6,665

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 71,211
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 3

Paul Hudson defeated Michael Markey Jr. in the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 3 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Hudson	54.7	39,410
		Michael Markey Jr.	45.3	32,678

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 72,088
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• J. Allen Fiorletta (R)
• Jason Ickes (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Michigan District 3

Alexander Avery advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Michigan District 3 on July 20, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Alexander Avery (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Working Class Party convention

Working Class Party convention for U.S. House Michigan District 3

Louis Palus advanced from the Working Class Party convention for U.S. House Michigan District 3 on June 23, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Louis Palus (Working Class Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

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Hudson received the following endorsements.

• Citizens for Traditional Values – PAC

Pledges

Hudson signed the following pledges.

• Taxpayer Protection Pledge, Americans for Tax Reform

2022

See also: Michigan Supreme Court elections, 2022

General election

General election for Michigan Supreme Court (2 seats)

Incumbent Richard Bernstein and incumbent Brian Zahra defeated Kyra Harris Bolden, Paul Hudson, and Kerry Lee Morgan in the general election for Michigan Supreme Court on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Richard Bernstein (Nonpartisan)	33.9	2,120,661
✔		Brian Zahra (Nonpartisan)	23.9	1,493,317
		Kyra Harris Bolden (Nonpartisan)	21.9	1,368,652
		Paul Hudson (Nonpartisan)	13.3	834,436
		Kerry Lee Morgan (Nonpartisan)	7.0	438,595

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,255,661
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Michigan Supreme Court (2 seats)

Incumbent Richard Bernstein and Kyra Harris Bolden advanced from the Democratic convention for Michigan Supreme Court on August 21, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Richard Bernstein (D)
✔		Kyra Harris Bolden (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican convention

Republican convention for Michigan Supreme Court (2 seats)

Incumbent Brian Zahra and Paul Hudson advanced from the Republican convention for Michigan Supreme Court on August 27, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Brian Zahra (R)
✔		Paul Hudson (R)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Michigan Supreme Court (2 seats)

Kerry Lee Morgan advanced from the Libertarian convention for Michigan Supreme Court on July 10, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Kerry Lee Morgan (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Paul Hudson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Hudson’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Growth The economy has gone haywire the past few years as costs have skyrocketed, wages have stagnated, and everyday life has become unaffordable. West Michigan families are paying more and getting less—at the grocery store, at the gas pump, and everywhere in-between. Many are wondering if the American Dream is out of reach. My commonsense plan is aimed entirely at making that dream possible once again. We will unlock economic growth through free markets, lower taxes, less regulation, and reduced government spending. Tackle Inflation Runaway inflation has made life unaffordable—over $10,000 per year more expensive than just a few years ago, and wages haven’t kept up. West Michigan families are feeling the struggle of putting food on their tables and fuel in their cars. This was a direct result of bad policy in Washington, with trillions of dollars of irresponsible government spending turbocharging inflation. Joe Biden and Hillary Scholten’s so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” tried to spend even more money to solve inflation, only making things worse. We need commonsense and responsible legislation that lowers spending and brings down inflation. Lower Taxes Did you know your taxes are set to automatically go up next year? Not just for the wealthy or for corporations—for nearly everybody, across the board. As your representative in Congress, I won’t let that happen. I believe that West Michiganders should get to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks, not less. On day one in Congress, I’ll work to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to let you keep more of your own money. Rein in Government Spending Our country is in a mess of debt—and both parties are to blame for their addiction to spending. The national debt has ballooned to $34 trillion—over a hundred grand for every man, woman, and child in America. This isn’t Monopoly money. We’re now spending more just on interest on our debt than on our entire national defense budget. This is unsustainable. Step one in righting the ship is reining in Washington’s wasteful spending spree. Prosperity There’s an old saying that I live by: Let’s leave this place a little better than we found it. As a parent, I’m worried that we’re not living up to that promise, and I worry about the world we’re leaving our children. To ensure the long-term prosperity of our country, we need to get back to the basics of promoting high-quality education, jobs, and quality healthcare. Education Every child deserves access to a quality education, no matter where they live. Education is the foundation of equality of opportunity in this country. We need to do more to raise standards, support students, provide better and more individualized educational opportunities, and make our public schools accountable to parents. With reading and math scores sliding in recent years, let’s get back to the basics to ensure our children are equipped with the tools they need to prosper in the future. Jobs As your next Congressman, I will be a strong voice for West Michigan. Our state is continuing to see a decline in population, while newly graduating college students are leaving to find jobs elsewhere. But West Michigan is home to local companies that are innovating and producing world-class products. By supporting small businesses, we are helping to provide genuine job growth and ensuring that our next generation can thrive right here at home. Healthcare Families have continued to struggle with out-of-control healthcare costs. Free markets and greater competition among insurers will help drive costs down for everyone, lowering medical expenses across the board. By protecting pre-existing conditions and lowering costs, we can help millions get access to the quality, affordable healthcare they need. Security Our American way of life is not possible without a commitment to security, both at home and abroad. We need to secure our borders, enforce the rule of law in our cities and communities, and recommit to steely-eyed American leadership on the world stage. Secure the Border While Washington politicians sit on their hands, we have a national crisis at our southern border. A record 9 million illegal immigrants have entered our country in just the past three years due to the irresponsible and inexcusable open-border policy of the Biden administration and Hillary Scholten. We are seeing the impact of open borders right here in our community as fentanyl overdoses continue to devastate families, overwhelm our services to the point that the Governor's administration has asked Michiganders to house migrants. As your Congressman, I’ll make sure this ends. This is basic common sense: we have immigration laws for a reason, and we need to enforce them. Safer Communities We need to recommit to enforcing the rule of law in our cities to keep them a safe and welcoming place for people to live and work. I will support the law enforcement community 100 percent, support Second Amendment rights, and ensure that our law enforcement agencies are provided the support and tools that allow them to serve and protect. National Security America is the greatest and most powerful nation on earth, and we should act like it. Weakness on the world stage only invites aggression from bad actors, so the way to maintain peace is to show strength. In Congress, I will always support our military and make sure they have the tools they need to be the greatest fighting force in the world. I will always stand up for American values and American interests against threats from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and others.	”
—Paul Hudson’s campaign website (2024)

2022

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released Aug 14, 2022

Paul Hudson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hudson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Paul Hudson is a leading Michigan appellate lawyer, husband and father, accomplished athlete, and homegrown Michigander. He grew up on the ballfields of metro Detroit and is the grandson of legendary Michigan State football coach Duffy Daugherty.

Paul leads the Appeals group at one of Michigan’s oldest and largest law firms, and has argued more than 150 cases in the Michigan appeals courts. This makes him one of the most experienced appellate lawyers ever to run for the Michigan Supreme Court.

Paul received an undergraduate degree from Cornell University in 2003 and his law degree, with honors, from Georgetown University Law Center in 2006. Before launching his appellate career, Paul clerked for Judge Raymond Kethledge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, one of the most widely respected federal judges in the nation.

Paul currently lives in Kalamazoo with his wife, a college professor with a PhD in Aerospace Engineering, and two children. Paul has run three marathons, a dozen half-marathons, two Tough Mudders, and a handful of triathlons.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Paul believes a judge should be like an umpire. A good judge doesn’t make up the rules, or change them mid-game. A good judge just calls balls and strikes, faithfully applying the rules as written – fairly, consistently, and without favoring one side or the other.
• Paul believes we need to keep the politics out of our courts. Judges should not be politicians dressed up in fancy black robes. Politics are white-hot right now, but this is when we need our judges to be fair and impartial the most.
• As one of Michigan’s most experienced appellate lawyers, Paul has the experience and background that Michiganders deserve in a Justice serving on our state’s highest court.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Paul believes we need to leave the politics to the politicians and keep politics out of our courts. The legislature, on behalf of the people, makes the laws and sets the public policy for the state. A judge’s role is humble but important: follow the law as written. That’s how our system works best.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Paul Hudson campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Michigan District 3	Lost general	$1,201,985	$1,201,985
2022	Michigan Supreme Court	Lost general	$876,575	$0
Grand total			$2,078,560	$1,201,985
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

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Candidate

U.S. House Michigan District 3

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Footnotes

[show]

Michigan's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Gary Peters (D)

Elissa Slotkin (D)

Representatives

District 1

Jack Bergman (R)

District 2

John Moolenaar (R)

District 3

Hillary Scholten (D)

District 4

Bill Huizenga (R)

District 5

Tim Walberg (R)

District 6

Debbie Dingell (D)

District 7

Tom Barrett (R)

District 8

Kristen Rivet (D)

District 9

Lisa McClain (R)

District 10

John James (R)

District 11

Haley Stevens (D)

District 12

Rashida Tlaib (D)

District 13

Shri Thanedar (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (7)