Article courtesy of MIRS for SBAM’s Lansing Watchdog newsletter
Michigan’s Grand Rapids/Muskegon-based 3rd Congressional district is no longer among the congressional Republicans’ top priorities. After U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Grand Rapids) defeated Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidate in 2022, she glided to re-election in 2024 (when Trump won Michigan) by 10 points.
However, the lack of a funded, announced candidate was a notable hole in the GOP’s roster going into 2026. There’s a hole no longer.
Veteran West Michigan meteorologist Terri DeBoer announced Thursday that she is running in MI-3.
DeBoer, who has spent more than three decades delivering weather forecasts to West Michigan viewers, said she is entering the race to protect economic opportunity and individual freedoms for future generations.
“I spent my career predicting storms, but today I see a different kind of turbulence on the horizon—one that threatens our safety, our freedoms, and our children’s future,” DeBoer said in a campaign statement announcing her bid.
DeBoer said her campaign will focus on issues such as border security, reducing federal spending and promoting what she described as a patient-centered health care system.
The longtime broadcaster argued that current representation in Washington has drifted away from the priorities of residents in West Michigan.
“Families across West Michigan deserve a leader who fights for them, not someone more interested in playing political games with the establishment,” she said.
DeBoer is well known in the region for her long tenure forecasting weather at several television stations. She moved to West Michigan in 1990 as a reporter at WWMT-TV in Kalamazoo before transitioning to meteorology in 1992. In 1995, she joined WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, where she spent nearly three decades forecasting weather and covering major regional storms. She later returned to television in 2024 at WXMI-TV (FOX 17).
During her career, DeBoer earned the American Meteorological Society’s Television Seal of Approval in 1996, becoming the first woman in Michigan to receive the credential. She was also inducted into the Michigan Emmy Silver Circle in 2022 for more than 25 years of contributions to the television industry.
Beyond broadcasting, DeBoer has been active in community organizations, including serving on the board of the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan and helping support initiatives such as the “Be Nice” campaign promoting mental health awareness.
DeBoer, a mother and grandmother, said her decision to run was motivated in part by concerns about the future facing younger generations.
“They have spent over thirty years trusting me to guide them through every storm,” she said. “Now I’m ready to take that same dedication to Washington and fight for West Michigan.”
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