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

Former Republican state lawmaker Tom Barrett has opposed abortion rights, supported tax increases, and tried to block new manufacturing investments in his own community.

MICHIGAN—This year, former Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett is asking more than 600,000 Michiganders to send him to Congress, with hopes of representing them in Washington, DC.

In August, Barrett will slide unopposed through the Republican primary election for the state’s 7th District—which includes Clinton, Ingham, Livingston and Shiawassee counties. It’s his second bid for the seat after he lost to US Rep. Elissa Slotkin (by 20,000+ votes) in 2022.

Slotkin is running for US Senate this year, leaving her US House seat up for grabs in the November election, where Barrett will face off against former two-term Democratic state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., who is also running unopposed in this year’s Democratic primary election.

It’s been called one of the nation’s most competitive (and most expensive) House districts, and the winner of the election could help decide which party controls the US House next year.

So, here are seven things to know about Barrett before you fill out your ballot:

1.) Tom Barrett opposes abortion rights.

Barrett has billed himself as “100% PRO-LIFE — NO EXCEPTIONS” and has a long record of opposing abortion—including introducing state legislation in 2019 to make “partial-birth” abortions punishable by up to two years in prison, with no exceptions for rape or incest. 

That inaccurate term is often used by Republicans to describe the dilation and extraction (or D&E) procedure used in late-term abortions. The procedure is also used for miscarriages. 

But Barrett’s abortion ban bill never made it through the state House—and nowadays, it would no longer comply with the state Constitution, which includes a voter-approved amendment that protects access to abortion. (Barrett has since labeled those protections as “pretty extreme.”)

When questioned about his rigid anti-abortion viewpoints in 2022, Barrett told the Detroit News that he believed that Roe v. Wade—which had protected abortion access nationwide—was decided incorrectly, and that he’d also be willing to consider federal legislation to ban abortion.

“I’ve had a long legislative record of being a pro-life candidate, a pro-life legislator—elected and reelected on that position,” Barrett said. “I’ve been what I consider to be a leader on this issue, and I’m not going to shy away from it because I know I’m right. And I take it very seriously.”

After that interview was published, Barrett reportedly tried to distance himself from his unpopular viewpoints on abortion—including by removing the “values” section of his campaign website which had previously vowed that he would “always work to protect life from conception.”

In a more recent interview, Barrett said that he thinks his anti-abortion views won’t do anything to harm his latest bid for the US House—namely because his opponent is not a woman.

“My opponent is not a woman. He does not have the depth of resources that Slotkin had,” Barrett told the Washington Examiner. “The abortion proposal, which dominated the race and every race in America seemingly two years ago, is not on the ballot in Michigan this year.”

This year, Barrett’s campaign website doesn’t include a single reference to abortion. 

2.) Tom Barrett voted to raise the Michigan gas tax.

While serving in the state House in 2015, Barrett voted in support of state legislation that raised Michigan’s gas tax from 19 to 26.3 cents per gallon, as well as set automatic hikes to the gas tax based on inflation. He also voted for another bill to raise vehicle registration fees by 20%.

When those bills were passed and signed into law by former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder in 2015, Michigan already reportedly had one of the highest tax rates on fuel in the nation. 

It’s worth noting:

This year, Barrett’s campaign falsely claimed that Hertel has a “record of supporting higher taxes for Michiganders” and has since called on him to “give taxpayers a break.” But voting records show that Hertel voted against those same gas tax increases in the state Senate.

3.) Tom Barrett tried to repeal Michigan’s earned income tax credit.

In 2015, Barrett also reportedly joined Republicans in an effort to repeal Michigan’s earned income tax credit by voting for House Bill 4609. The effort was ultimately unsuccessful, and now hundreds of thousands of Michigan families benefit from those state tax credits every year.

It’s worth noting:

With Democratic lawmakers in charge of both chambers of the state Legislature, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has since signed legislation to quintuple Michigan’s Working Families Tax Credit from 6% to 30% of the federal level—translating to even bigger refunds for about 700,000 families. 

4.) Tom Barrett has had issues with campaign finances.

According to End Citizens United (ECU), Barrett has repeatedly been caught trying to break federal laws to bolster his campaigns and to keep Michiganders in the dark about his finances. 

During his last failed campaign, ECU filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission that claimed Barrett had illegally used $40,000 in state campaign money to boost his congressional campaign. It also reportedly took two days—and a complaint to the US Department of Justice—for Barrett to release his personal financial disclosure reports in 2022.

5.) Tom Barrett has sided with Big Pharma.

Barrett was a vocal critic of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 and has since raised taxes on corporations and lowered prescription drug costs for thousands of Michiganders—including by capping insulin costs at $35 per month. 

While in the state Senate, Barrett also voted to keep Michigan as the only state in the US that shielded pharmaceutical companies from liability when they sold dangerous or defective drugs.

Democrats reportedly tried to repeal those liability laws as part of a legislative package to suspend the state’s gas tax in 2022, but Barrett joined Republicans in rejecting the changes.

It’s worth noting:

With Democratic lawmakers in charge of both chambers of the state Legislature, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has since signed legislation to repeal those shield laws for Big Pharma—making Michigan the last state in the country to start holding companies accountable for bad drugs. 

In a statement, Hertel labeled Barrett’s voting record on the issue as “unacceptable.”

“With far-right billionaires pouring millions of dollars into elections across the country, our government no longer represents the will of the people but whoever can spend the most amount of money,” he said. “We must put power back in the hands of the people, and we can only do so by safeguarding and expanding the freedom to vote and rooting corruption out of our politics.” 

6.) Tom Barrett voted against Michigan workers—several times.

While serving as a state lawmaker, Barrett voted at least five times to oppose tax incentives that helped lure thousands of automotive manufacturing jobs into his own Congressional district.

Senate Bills 85, 769, 770 and 771 created a new, $1 billion state fund to help develop land for future, job-creating manufacturing facilities—with the immediate aim of landing a new, $2.5 billion General Motors (GM) battery plant in the city of Lansing. Barrett voted against them all—and then voted against a $666 million state funding transfer request to support the project. 

Barrett has also criticized the CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022 and has since contributed to an ongoing clean energy boom in Michigan.

It’s worth noting:

All of those bills passed without Barrett’s support, and GM’s new battery plant in Lansing is set to create 1,700 new jobs—many of which have already been filled following a recent hiring fair. 

That expansion has also helped entice General Motors to invest another $900 million into its nearby Grand River Assembly Plant, which is set to be retooled for electric vehicle production with the help of a $500 million federal grant made available through the Inflation Reduction Act. 

7.) Tom Barrett’s career has been bankrolled by Betsy DeVos.

In 2022, Barrett reportedly received more than $50,000 in campaign contributions from right-wing billionaire Betsy DeVos and her family after he threw his support behind a voucher-style ballot initiative that sought to undermine public schools across Michigan. 

“If the traditional public school system were working for every parent then these (vouchers) wouldn’t be necessary, but we’ve seen an overwhelming desire by parents to have more control in their kids’ education,” Barrett said to Bridge Michigan about DeVos-backed scheme in 2022. “I’m excited for the launch of this circulated initiative, and I’m excited to vote for it.”

It’s worth noting:

DeVos’ attacks on public schools failed—miserably. After Democrats took control of state government, the right-wing group that was pushing for the school voucher-style system in Michigan withdrew its petitions and called off its plans to get the initiative on the ballot in 2024.

READ MORE: This lawmaker built his career on compromise. But now he isn’t budging. 

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