Gaylord, MI — Community organizations across Michigan’s First Congressional District have launched the MI-01 Meet the Candidates Project, a coordinated, non-partisan series of public forums that will bring congressional primary candidates directly to communities across the district in early 2026.

Michigan’s First Congressional District spans a vast and diverse geographic area—nearly eight hours end to end. Historically, many voters in rural and remote communities have had limited opportunities to engage directly with congressional candidates in meaningful public settings.

Primary-season events often focus on fundraising or brief appearances rather than substantive dialogue. The project gives voters the opportunity to listen, compare, and reflect before casting their primary ballots and gives candidates meaningful opportunities to engage the communities they might not otherwise reach.

The Event in Gaylord is the first in this series of district-wide moderated candidate forums organized in Michigan’s First District. From February through April, local Indivisible groups and their community partners will host public forums in communities spanning the entire First District, from Ironwood in the western U.P to Sterling, just north of Bay City. This project honors the size, character, and capacity of each participating community. The events will be in-person, with some of them also accessible on-line.

All events will be:

● Non-partisan

● Moderated and structured

● Grounded in civility and respectful dialogue

● Open and accessible to the public

The Gaylord Event will be held February 13 in the upstairs meeting room of the Otsego County Library from 6:30 pm-8:00pm. Four candidates have agreed to participate in this public forum: Wayne Stiles (Democrat), Kyle Blomquist (Democrat), Justin Michals (Republican), and Zebulon Featherley (Independent). Members of the community are invited to submit written questions to volunteer staff prior to and during the forum to which each candidate shall respond in turn. All questions must be issue-related, and we suggest they pertain to how these issues affect voters in Michigan’s First District. Questions about this Gaylord event should be directed to Leah Cygan, Group Leader for Indivisible Courage Together at leahcygan@icloud.com.