Joseph McClusky defeats Nancy DeBoer as Ottawa Impact co-founder Joe Moss wins a seat in the Republican minority.
Four years ago, Joseph McClusky managed the campaign that lost to Nancy DeBoer. On November 3, 2026, he defeated her.
The 29-year-old Hope College graduate flipped Michigan’s 86th House District, which includes Holland and parts of Ottawa and Allegan counties. DeBoer, a Republican and former Holland mayor, had held the seat since 2022. Celebrating in a downtown pub, McClusky told supporters he had received a call identifying his victory as “the majority-making seat,” Michigan Public reported.
Democrats reclaimed the Michigan House, retained the Senate and won the governorship with Jocelyn Benson. Holland’s next representative will enter office with his party controlling state government.
Days before the election, Marilyn Sierra stood outside the Holland Civic Center waiting for Jorge and Paola Ramos’s interview with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. The 53-year-old factory worker, originally from Puerto Rico, told Michigan Public’s Michelle Jokisch Polo she had voted Republican throughout her 14 years in Michigan. This year, she was considering switching.
Her concern was whether her grandchildren would ever afford a home. She worked more than 40 hours a week making airplane parts.
“I’m here to give Mr. Abdul a chance,” she said. Both McClusky and DeBoer had been campaigning in English and Spanish.
Joe Moss wins the 89th District
Republicans also won in surrounding districts. Brad Slagh retained the 85th House seat, while John Wetzel won the 31st Senate District, according to unofficial results reported by WHTC.
Joe Moss, co-founder of the conservative group Ottawa Impact, won the open 89th House seat against Democrat Meegan Zickus. The district stretches across parts of Ottawa, Muskegon and Kent counties. Moss will take office in January 2027 as a member of the Republican minority.
His campaign describes him as “100% committed to Make America Great Again.” His victory follows the loss of Ottawa Impact’s county governing majority. The faction took control of Ottawa County’s board in January 2023. After the November 2024 election, it held four of the board’s 11 seats. Commissioners replaced Moss as chair with John Teeples by a 7–4 vote in January 2025.
Under Moss, the board fired administrators, eliminated the county’s diversity and equity office and pursued the removal of health officer Adeline Hambley. The dispute over Hambley’s job produced a year of litigation. In an October 2024 accounting, Ottawa News Network’s Sarah Leach reported $188,000 owed for her attorney’s fees and $233,900 billed by county attorneys—a combined $421,900. Hambley kept her job.
When Teeples assumed the chairmanship, he addressed county employees directly: “I am sorry for what many of you had to endure over the last 2 years.”
What McClusky and Moss bring to the Michigan House
McClusky heads to the Michigan House of Representatives promising to expand affordable housing, lower health care costs and fully fund public schools. He also proposes opening the Legislature and governor’s office to public-records requests, giving residents greater access to how state decisions are made.
Moss brings a program of tax cuts, opposition to DEI policies and greater local authority over land use and energy projects. His stated goals include eliminating income or property taxes. He campaigns on his county record, citing the closure of the DEI department, expansion of veterans services and efforts to keep the J.H. Campbell coal plant operating.
Disclosure: Rebecca Padnos Altamirano, the author’s wife and an Interesante co-founder, co-organized the October 25 event.
