Republican Tom Barrett wins Michigan’s 7th Congressional District race

Former Michigan state Sen. Tom Barrett (R) has emerged victorious against Democratic challenger Curtis Hertel to win the state’s 7th Congressional seat, which is currently held by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D). 

The Associated Press called the race for Barrett at 4:05 a.m. EST. Barrett was able to flip a competitive tossup district despite trailing behind Hertel in fundraising numbers as of Sept. 30. Barrett did hold the edge in polling data, and he likely benefited from the seat being open due to Slotkin’s departure to run for the U.S. Senate. This is the second cycle in a row Barrett has pursued the 7th Congressional District seat after narrowly losing another expensive race to Slotkin in 2022.  

In February, Barrett drew headlines when he said abortion would not be a factor this time because his opponent was a man. Barrett, who has voiced opposition to rape and incest exceptions for abortion bans, also scrubbed his campaign website of all anti-abortion rhetoric in 2022. 

Hertel served as a Michigan state Senator from 2015-2023, where he served as the minority whip until he was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits in 2022. He then joined Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) gubernatorial administration until he resigned in June 2023 to seek Slotkin’s 7th Congressional District seat when she announced her intention to run for U.S. Senate.