Another retired Marine Corps officer is considering a run for northern Michigan’s seat in U.S. Congress. This time it’s a Democrat.
Matt Morgan of Traverse City says he has filed paperwork to challenge Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet) next year.
"I have several people here in the region and in the U.P. that I still want to sit down and talk with before I announce," Morgan says, "but I'm a Marine. Once I get something in my teeth it's hard to get it out."
Morgan retired from the U.S. Marine Corps as a lieutenant colonel in 2013. Bergman is also a former Marine, who retired as a three-star general in 2009.
Morgan is working as an independent consultant in Traverse City. He says he never previously imagined running for office.
“After the results of this last election and then watching the Congress take the floor ... I felt called [to run],” Morgan says. “And I was asked by several people if I’d be interested in considering it. And I saw it as an opportunity to step back into service.”
Rep. Bergman won easily in last November’s election. He carried nearly 55 percent of the vote against former state Democratic Party chair Lon Johnson.
But Morgan says Democrats can win the seat back by focusing on bringing jobs to the region.
“I feel like in 2018 we’re going to have an opportunity to turn out a lot of Democratic voters,” Morgan says. “And I hope I am able to appeal to a lot of voters that wouldn’t normally vote Democratic.”
Morgan moved to Traverse City from Virginia in 2013 after retiring from the Marine Corps.