Meet the Michigan Republicans supporting Curtis Hertel for Congress 

A group of elected officials and community leaders are crossing party lines to throw their support behind former state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. and his bid for the US House.

MICHIGAN—Former Democratic state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. is attracting some unusually broad support in his bid to represent Michigan in the US House this year—namely from a group of Republican and independent elected officials who are crossing the party line to vote for him.

Hertel’s campaign this week announced the Republican and Independents for Hertel Coalition, which includes two dozen elected officials who do not identify as Democrats but are still willing to vote for Hertel over his Republican challenger, former state Sen. Tom Barrett.

“We’re building a coalition of reasonable people of all parties who are tired of politics as usual and ready for leaders that will actually deliver results that matter,” Hertel said in a statement. “I am honored to have the support of Republicans & Independents across the district who know we need a representative with a record of finding common ground and bipartisan governance and see me as the only candidate in the race who is willing to put people over party.”

Hertel, 46, served as a state senator representing Lansing and East Lansing from from 2015 to 2022 before he was term-limited from office. He also briefly served as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s legislative affairs director before stepping down from the role last summer to run for Congress.

This year, Hertel is running unopposed in the Democratic Primary Election to represent Michigan’s 7th House District, which includes Ingham, Livingston, Clinton, and Shiawassee counties, as well as parts of Eaton, Oakland, and Genesee counties. The district is currently represented by US Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is running for an open seat in the US Senate.

On the other side of the aisle, former state Sen. Tom Barrett is the only Republican candidate to make a run for the seat this year—and he has a record of opposing abortion rights, supporting tax increases, and trying to block new manufacturing investments in his own community. 

Republican members of the new coalition, including former Republican US Rep. Joe Schwarz, said they’re essentially abandoning their own political party this year by voting against Barrett, but would prefer to elect Hertel based on his reputation of seeking bipartisan solutions to issues. 

“It’s not the loudest voices in the room who get things done,” Schwarz said. “I had a front-row seat to those things that make someone an effective legislator, and what doesn’t. Effective legislators are people who are willing to work with anyone to accomplish the right result.”

Former Republican state Sen. Wayne Schmidt also joined the new coalition, and has since billed Hertel as “one of the few” legislators who was willing to reach across the aisle in Lansing.

“He was an honest broker who understood the virtue of compromise and collaboration,” Schmidt said in a statement from Hertel’s campaign. “It is for these reasons he served his constituents well as their state senator and why he will represent our communities well in Congress.”

Whoever the 700,000 Michiganders living in the 7th District end up sending to the US House of Representatives will likely play a decisive role in determining the political control of Congress in 2025, and ultimately the future direction of the country. Republican lawmakers currently hold a slim majority in the House; Democrats will need to hold the seat in order to retake the majority.

Analysts are already painting the congressional race as one of the most competitive (and likely most expensive) political matchups in the country. The 7th District is currently one of only two Congressional districts in Michigan—and one of only 22 across the country—that The Cook Political Report identifies as a “toss-up” race, meaning a lot can happen ahead of Election Day, and that it’s essentially anybody’s guess whether a Democrat or a Republican will be elected.

Other members of the coalition include:

• Bill Sederburg, former Michigan state senator

• Chris Ward, former Michigan state representative

• George Heartwell, former mayor of Grand Rapids

• Louise Alderson, former Michigan district court judge

• Brett Gillespie, Grand Ledge City Councilmember

• John Pirich, former assistant attorney general of the state of Michigan

• Gary Reed, former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party

• Jeff Timmer, former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party

• Dennis Muchmore, chief of staff to former Republican Gov. Rick Synder

• Richard McLellan, former chairman of the Michigan Law Revision Commission

• Jim Haveman, former director of Michigan Department of Community Health

• Eric Schneidewind, former chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission

• Gerlayn Lasher, communications director for former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder

• Jeff Cobb, former secretary of the Michigan Senate and Republican legislative staffer

• Brian Mills, former director of the Michigan House Republican Policy Office

• Natalie Stewart, former director of public affairs for the attorney general of Michigan

• Scott Bean, former Republican state legislative staffer

• James Murray, former Republican state legislative staffer

• Lorri Rishar, former Republican state legislative staffer

• Brittany Lewandowski, former Republican state legislative staffer

• Charles Visser, former Republican state legislative staffer

READ MORE: 7 things to know about Tom Barrett and his latest bid for Congress

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