Suburban Detroit Democrat launches first TV ad for US House campaign

Grant Schwab, The Detroit News on Sep 8, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Democratic U.S. House candidate Christina Hines on Tuesday, Sept. 8, launched her first video ad since winning a competitive primary for a suburban Detroit swing seat in early August.

The ad, titled "Clean-Up," promotes Hines' experience "cleaning up messes" as a former special victims prosecutor and mother of three young children.

"Cleaning up messes. I know something about that," Hines, a 36-year-old from Warren, says in a narration over video of her wiping a spill from her kitchen table. "As an SVU prosecutor, I cleaned up messes when I put away predators, pedophiles and murderers. I didn't care if they were Republican or Democrat. I just wanted to make our community safer."

Her campaign said in a statement that the 30-second spot will be part of a six-figure advertising push in a race that one prominent political handicapper recently shifted from "lean Republican" to "toss-up." Hines is running to represent Michigan's 10th Congressional District, which covers southern Macomb County, and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County.

She will face off in the November general election against Republican nominee Michael Bouchard of Rochester Hills. Bouchard, 32, is a former Army paratrooper and son of the longtime Oakland County Sheriff of the same name.

The winner will succeed GOP U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, who chose not to seek reelection to his current post and instead became Michigan's Republican nominee for governor.

Hines' ad goes back and forth between showing her in courtroom and home settings. "I'm Christina Hines, a mom and a prosecutor. Cleaning up a mess, that's just part of the job," she narrates.

"I approve this message because right now D.C. is the biggest mess of all. Let's send a mom and a prosecutor to start the cleanup," she concludes, speaking directly to the camera.

The ad, and the television programs it targets, strikes a different tone than Bouchard's first commercial of the general election, which his campaign released a week earlier. That 30-second spot shows the candidate leaping from a plane and vowing to "lead the fight" against socialism.

Bouchard's campaign, per public media disclosures, is mostly looking to air the ad during scripted dramas (especially ones featuring police and first responders), news programs and football games.

Hines' campaign is placing more emphasis on airing its first ad on channels like Home & Garden Television (HGTV) and the Food Network, which tend to have majority female viewership, per Comcast Advertising. Her campaign has also placed reservations during news programs, several Detroit Tigers baseball games and some football games, like the Michigan State vs. Eastern Michigan matchup on Sept. 12.

The 10th District contest is expected to draw millions in spending ahead of November, and Bouchard appears to have an early fundraising advantage. His first ad push was worth over $1 million, per his campaign. That is larger than Hines' unspecified six-figure spend.

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