Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Democrats Ken Summers, 110th District Candidate for State House of Representatives; U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow; Matt Morgan, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives; and current State Rep. Scott Dianda, candidate for 38th District State Senate, pose with Houghton County Democrats.

HOUGHTON — With less than two months left before the general election, Democratic U.S. House of Representatives candidate Matt Morgan said he’s sensing momentum.

“We’re using every bit of time we have to get out, knock on doors, talk to voters and engage, because that’s the way we’re going to win,” he said.

Morgan is running to unseat Republican Rep. Jack Bergman, who is running for his second term. Morgan stopped in Houghton Saturday as part of the Houghton County Democratic Party’s “One Campaign for Michigan” event.

Morgan said constituents’ top priorities have been access to health care and protecting Social Security. The 1st District has 208,000 Social Security beneficiaries, Morgan said — about 22 percent of the district’s population.

“About one in four folks here in the 1st District is a senior who’s a beneficiary, so we have to protect Social Security, keep it solvent, and make sure it continues to grow at a rate so that the senior citizens can survive on it.”

Morgan supports Medicare For All, saying Medicare should be expanded over time and by working in a bipartisan fashion. Flaws in the how the Affordable Care Act was written left it vulnerable to being undermined in ways that could make health care more expensive and difficult to obtain, he said.

“Health care costs are spiraling out of control,” he said. “The cost is going to end up with everyday Americans one way or another. In this district, one in five people is struggling to pay their medical bills and another one in five people isn’t seeking medical attention, they’re not seeking treatment for fear of having huge medical bills.”

Morgan said his priority as Congressman would be to make the case for infrastructure investment. That would include funding of the Soo Locks.

“When you allow almost $2 trillion in revenue to walk out the door, as this Congress has done, it makes it difficult to find the nearly billion dollars that we need to fund that,” he said.

The $2 trillion amount references a tax cut passed earlier this year by Congress, which Morgan said is indicative of a system “rigged against middle-class families.”

“Working families need to keep more money in their paychecks,” he said. “We fully support that. Small businesses need to have their tax burden alleviated. We’re going to continue to focus on making sure that those job creators are viable and able to thrive. But an equitable tax law is something that needs to be addressed.”