Michigan Republicans picked state Sen. Tom Barrett on Tuesday to challenge Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the 7th Congressional District, setting up one of the midterm election’s marquee general election showdowns.
Barrett was the only candidate in the race for the GOP’s nod after party leaders cleared the path to the nomination for him, seeing the experienced state legislator and retired Army warrant officer as their best shot to unseat Slotkin, who first joined Congress after unseating GOP Rep. Mike Bishop in 2018.
The state senator and former state representative made a name for himself for vocally opposing Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pandemic-era restrictions, including strict lockdown measures and vaccine mandates. Now, Barrett will attempt to wrest control of the Lansing-anchored 7th District, which President Joe Biden won by less than 1 point in 2020, as a part of his party’s quest to retake the majority in the House of Representatives.
Election forecasters from Politico, the Cook Political Report, Fox News, RealClearPolitics, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball all rate the 7th Congressional District a “toss-up” race, meaning both parties have roughly equal chances of winning the election. Given Biden’s infinitesimal margin of victory in the 7th Congressional District, Republicans see it as a must-win on their path to winning the House.
Slotkin, who was a senior official in the Department of Defense under the Obama administration, is considered one of the more centrist members of the House Democratic Caucus.
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Michigan is set to be a critical battleground in both parties’ efforts to win control of the House this fall. Along with the 7th Congressional District, Republicans are targeting Democratic seats such as the Saginaw Bay-anchored 8th Congressional District, which Rep. Dan Kildee is running for, and the suburban Detroit 10th Congressional District, an open seat that was made significantly more GOP-friendly during redistricting. Democrats have their eyes on the Grand Rapids-centered 3rd Congressional District in the western part of the state, which was won by Biden in 2020 and is held by centrist Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI).
