Republican Tom Barrett launches second bid for Michigan House seat

Republican Tom Barrett announced Monday his campaign for an open House seat in Michigan, kicking off what is likely to be one of the most competitive and consequential House races in the 2024 election cycle. 

The campaign marks Barrett’s second attempt to win the seat in the swing district, after losing to Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) by 5 points in the 2022 midterm election. Slotkin recently announced her campaign for the Michigan Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D). 

Barrett, a 22-year Army veteran and former state senator, announced his campaign in a video posted to Twitter Monday morning. In the video, he focused on foreign policy issues, saying the Afghanistan withdrawal under President Biden “lit a fire in me” and compelled him to run. 

He also focused on fentanyl at the border, crime and inflation, and said the government ought to be “focused on the issues that matter to families like yours and mine.”

“I’m not running to be the lesser of two evils. I’m running because I want to leave my children an America worth defending,” Barrett said.

“I’m going to Washington to restore our commitment to America and the values that took us from a fragile new republic to become the greatest nation on earth. Along the way, I promise to be a congressman you can be proud of,” he added. 

Barrett filed to run for the vacated House seat Friday, which was expected after one of his strategists confirmed earlier this year that he would pursue a run.