Michigan House Race: GOP's Barrett Leads in Swing State

Michigan's 7th District is considered a swing seat, and Republicans believe they can win it.

A Sept. 9 poll conducted for the National Republican Congressional Committee shows Republican Tom Barrett leading Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr. by a good margin: 48% to 43%.

The survey mirrors the results of an independent poll conducted in July by Noble Predictive Insights, which showed Barrett leading Hertel by 48% to 41%.

In 2022, Barrett, a stalwart conservative and former state senator, lost a close race to the incumbent, Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin.

But Slotkin decided to leave her seat, which covers most of greater Lansing, to run for U.S. Senate.

Democrats turned to former state Sen. Hertel, most recently a top aide to liberal Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The Hertels are a big name in Michigan politics.

Candidate Hertel is the son of former state House Co-speaker Curtis Hertel, the nephew of former Rep. Dennis Hertel, and the brother of state Sen. Kevin Hertel.

"A lot of Democrats thought the Hertel name would pack a wallop," Ingham County Republican Party Co-chair Norm Shinkle said. "The name is more prominent in the Detroit area and means nothing in Lansing [or in] Livingston, Clinton, and Shiawassee counties, which is where the bulk of the votes are coming from."

Several Wolverine State observers also felt Curtis Hertel Jr.'s close association with Whitmer could be a liability due to the recent revelation of the bizarre video showing the governor feeding Doritos to kneeling children. 

Many Catholic organizations condemned the video as blasphemy and a mockery of Holy Communion.

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.