“I think he'd be an outstanding candidate,” said Sen. Todd Young, the National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman. | Bill Pugliano/Getty Images 2020 elections John James meets with Trump as GOP recruits him for Michigan run

Republicans are recruiting John James to run for Congress in Michigan in 2020. It’s just not clear which side of the Capitol will land him.

Both House and Senate GOP leadership are encouraging James, a military veteran and businessman, to run for office for a second time next year after losing to Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2018. Senate Republicans believe he has the best chance of making the next Michigan Senate race competitive and help protect their majority, while House Republicans hope he’ll run to flip a swing district the GOP lost in 2018.


James, who is close with the Trump administration and was floated earlier this year as a potential United Nations ambassador, has spoken with party leaders in recent weeks. President Donald Trump met with James at the White House on Tuesday, according to four people familiar with the meeting. Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, met with James last week during a trip to Michigan.

James also spoke with Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, this week. And James met with Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the NRCC's leadership in recent weeks, a committee spokesperson confirmed.

James lost by 6.5 percentage points against Stabenow last year despite running in a Democratic wave year with little national GOP investment in the race. Republicans were impressed by the West Point graduate’s biography and his fundraising prowess, as well as his ability to manage running in a short general election after winning a competitive primary less than three months before Election Day.

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Senate Republicans have few opportunities to expand their majority in 2020, as the GOP already holds most of the Senate seats up in next year’s election. But they are are eager to see James challenge first-term Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in Michigan and potentially expand their map. Peters is one of just two Senate Democrats running in states Trump carried in 2016.

“I think he'd be an outstanding candidate,” said Young, the NRSC chairman. "It's always helpful to have higher name ID on the back end of a contested race. He's a special candidate with special gifts, so I certainly feel like he'll have a lot of things going for him if he decides to run."

On the House side, Republicans are recruiting James as a possible candidate in the state’s 11th Congressional District, which neighbors Detroit, according to a Republican working on House races who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens won the district last year by more than 6 percentage points after two-term Republican Rep. Dave Trott retired.

However, a panel of federal judges recently tossed out Michigan’s congressional map, throwing next year’s House elections into uncertainty and complicating recruiting efforts for both parties there.

“He’s got both committees recruiting him hard for two different jobs,” said one GOP strategist, requesting anonymity to discuss internal party matters. “He’s been getting the full-court press.”

A representative for James declined to comment.

James proved a prolific fundraiser in the last election. He ended the first quarter of this year with nearly $500,000 left in his campaign account, a strong head start if he chooses to run again.

Yet within some corners of Trumpworld, there is concern that having James run for Senate will amp up Democratic engagement and turnout throughout Michigan — a state that is critical to the president’s 2020 hopes. A run for a House seat, some contend, would be safer for the president’s prospects in the state, which he carried by less than a quarter of a percentage point in 2016.

It’s possible James, 37, could pass entirely on running again in 2020 and wait for future opportunities, including potentially running for governor in 2022.

Even if James runs for Senate, Democrats are confident in Peters, who defeated a weak opponent by 13 percentage points in 2014 despite running in a terrible political environment for Democrats. Peters is preparing for a battleground race in 2020, and he raised $1.9 million in the first quarter of this year, giving him more than $3 million in his campaign bank account.

“I'm gearing up for reelection and it doesn't matter who the opponent is,” Peters said in an interview Thursday. “Whoever he or she is, we'll be ready and we'll be ready to win."

Alex Isenstadt contributed to this report.