Michigan has always been a leader, whether in industry, higher education, natural resources, cherries, pizza, or tourism. And in November of 2024, we will once again assume the role of a key battleground in the presidential election.
While all eyes are on Michigan’s statewide elections, the race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District is one of the top pick-up opportunities for Republicans in the country. There’s no question that on Election Day, this race will be ground zero and will likely determine control of Congress.
Both major parties have placed emphasis on this seat for obvious reasons. After being one of the most expensive races in the country in 2022, with a combined $39 million spent by both sides, it is now an “open seat,” as incumbent Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, is vacating it to run for the U.S. Senate. It’s a district that Joe Biden carried by less than one point in 2020 and Donald Trump won in 2016 by four points.
This makes Michigan’s 7th District seat an extreme rarity this election cycle – an open seat in a true swing district. Further, because the Republican majority in the House is historically thin, every single election matters even more, which explains why both parties have made this seat a top priority.
The issues facing us in mid-Michigan are similar to the issues Americans are facing everywhere. I listen to voters throughout the district every day, and they tell me they are struggling under Joe Biden’s economy, with sky high inflation that is hollowing out family budgets.
The Biden administration treats our automotive industry as the enemy and seems intent to destroy the fossil fuel industries with impossible-to-meet electric vehicle standards. In fact, last month, Ford announced $5.5 billion in losses from electric vehicles and revealed they are losing $100,000 on every EV made. Meanwhile, consumer demand continues to be weak, even with government incentives.
Michiganders see a president and a Democratic Party who have effectively eliminated our southern border and triggered an illegal immigration crisis that strains public resources and adds to rising crime throughout the country. Our own governor is paying housing stipends to migrants crossing our border while veterans go homeless, and Americans cannot purchase their first home. She ignores that on Biden’s watch, there have been enough illegal border crossings to nearly eclipse the entire population of the state of Michigan.
They see a world on fire and civil unrest from leftists at home, and they see a federal government that is being weaponized against the incumbent president’s political opponents.
In short, they see a disaster of epic proportions caused by a president and a party who are out of touch with what normal people want.
Michiganders want elected leaders who listen to the cares and concerns of the people who live here, not politicians who shape their policies to cater to masked students occupying administration buildings on Ivy League college campuses.
Former President Trump presents voters with a pro-America option, and it’s why I’ve endorsed him. If we simply undid all the damage that Biden has done, and restored the Trump policies that Biden overturned, our nation – and the entire world – would be a lot better off.
The benefit we have is that voters had the opportunity over the last eight years to live through the policies of both parties, and it’s plain for all to see that Republican policies are best. Under President Trump, we had a strong and vibrant economy, gas was affordable, our border was secure, the world was stable, terrorists were on the run, and America was not engaged in multiple international armed conflicts.
It’s the competing vision of America that’s at the center of our race in Michigan’s 7th District as well.
I know that people are struggling and unhappy with the direction of the country. I am a former state legislator and retired U.S. Army helicopter pilot. I have forged many strong relationships with people who just want their elected representatives to listen.
As a result, I’m advancing what I call the Four Pillars of Security: economic security, neighborhood security, national security, and border security. Each is related to the others, and we can’t have a truly safe and prosperous country unless we have strong policies and leadership on all of them. We must win the battle of ideas to make sure we are enacting strong, commonsense solutions to these problems, or the downward spiral we’re in will continue to pick up speed.
My opponent, former Democratic state senator Curtis Hertel Jr., has served 22-years in elected office and is Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s top political ally. He won’t keep taxes low or protect our auto industry from environmental extremists. He won’t secure our border, but he will send American tax dollars to fund foreign adversaries without accountability or oversight. And he’ll side with radical leftists who hate everything that made America great.
Once again, Michigan is front and center in a presidential election year. And I believe that, as goes Michigan’s 7th District, so goes the nation.
Tom Barrett is a former member of both the Michigan House and Senate, a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Army, and the 2024 Republican nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Barrett’s campaign can be found online here.