LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – With 99% of the votes counted, Republican Tom Barrett is ahead of Democratic opponent Curtis Hertel in the race for the state’s 7th Congressional District with 50.3% of the vote vs. Hertel’s 46.6%.

Republican Barrett is a former state senator and the district he will be representing includes Ingham, Livingston, Shiawassee, and Clinton counties, along with most of Eaton County and small sections of Oakland and Genesee counties. Key cities within the district are Lansing, East Lansing, St. Johns, Owosso, and Howell.

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The district was left open when U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) decided to pursue the U.S. Senate seat. Slotkin had beat Barrett by five points for the seat back in 2022.

On Barrett’s social media X account, at 2:10 a.m., he posted a photo of himself with his family saying, “Thank you, Michigan! It is my honor to be your next Congressman from the 7th District! I’m ready to continue fighting for you and make you proud.”

Also early in the morning, Michigan GOP Chair Pete Hoekstra posted a photo of himself with the “next congressman.”

Barrett is a father, husband and Iraq War veteran – a helicopter pilot who says on his campaign website that “America is at a crossroads.” He adds, “I’m not running for Congress to be the lesser of two evils – I’m running because I want to leave my children an America worth defending. I’m going to Washington to restore our commitment to America, and the values that took us from a fragile new republic to the greatest nation on earth.”

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Barrett also promises, “I’ll stand firm against giving your tax dollars to Chinese corporations, just like I did in Lansing. I’ll vote to make our communities safe, secure the border, get fentanyl off our streets, and get government out of the way of our job- creators.”

Now he’s got two years to keep those promises.