"My heart sank when my son called me the night of the shooting, asking me what to barricade the door with. Like any parent, my immediate concern was my family, but in the days + weeks after that horrible night we all knew that we had to act. An abstract problem became a personal tragedy. Thoughts + prayers were not enough.

I’m a proud Spartan myself + proud of how we came together to finally pass meaningful laws to help protect our kids." Curtis Hertel, whose son is a student at Michigan State University

 

"I am so grateful to my friend Curtis Hertel Jr. for his service to the State of Michigan + for everything he has done bringing Republicans + Democrats together to make a real difference in people’s lives. Curtis helped deliver $1 billion in tax cuts for Michiganders by securing a repeal of the retirement tax + expanding the Working Families Tax Credit".

Governor Gretchen Whitmer

 

BACKGROUND + EXPERIENCE

Curtis Hertel comes from a long-time political family in Michigan + is a graduate of Michigan State University. He served on the Ingham County Board of  Commissioners from 2001 to 2008, representing the north half of East Lansing and Meridian Township. From 2005 to 2008, Hertel worked as a Legislative Liaison for the Department of Community Health under Governor Jennifer Granholm. He was elected Ingham County Register of Deeds in 2008, + re-elected to a second term in 2012

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Hertel was elected to the Michigan State Senate in 2014, where he was Minority Whip + Chairperson for the Democratic Caucus Campaign Committee. He served as senator for the 23rd district in Michigan, which represented the cities of Lansing + East Lansing and surroundings.

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Hertel introduced bills to offer tax credits to Michigan college graduates who elected to remain residents of the state after graduation. He introduced legislation to require discussions of affirmative consent in high school sex education classes. In March 2016, he introduced a bill to put $3 million into the First Responder Presumed Coverage Fund, which would financially support firefighters who develop cancer due to chemical exposure on the job.

In November 2018, Hertel was re-elected to the 23rd district in the Michigan State Senate, where he served four more years.  He was the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Hertel was term-limited out in 2022 + took a position as the Governor’s Director of Legislative Affairs.

When Representative Elissa Slotkin (MI-07) decided to run for Senate in Michigan, she recruited Hertel to follow in her footsteps as the Representative of this district, knowing he was highly qualified for the job.

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ISSUES

Curtis Hertel has worked hard as both a State Senator + is the Governor’s Director of Legislative Affairs to:

• Support Michigan families, workers + industry

• Pass bipartisan legislation that cut taxes for seniors + working families

• Expand workers’ rights

• Win new investments in advanced manufacturing to bring well-paying jobs to Mid-Michigan + across the state

• Protect women’s rights to choose

• Pass legislation that repealed the archaic 1931 law that banned abortion in Michigan, even in cases of rape + incest

• Enact common-sense gun safety laws including red flag + safe storage laws + extreme risk protection orders

 

POLITICS IN MICHIGAN

Michigan has been trending Democratic for the last few years. The state went narrowly for Trump in ‘16 but returned to the Democratic fold in 2020.

Michigan is a critical battleground state for the Presidential elections. Today, all of Michigan’s statewide elected officials are Democrat + the Governor, Secretary of State + Attorney General are all women. Both senators are Democrats, but with Senator Stabenow’s retirement, that seat is competitive. At the moment, the Michigan State House + Senate are also narrowly under Democratic control. Of Michigan’s thirteen members of the House, seven are Democrats + six are Republicans.​

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MI-07 is a Biden +1 district. Before Elissa Slotkin won in the old MI-08 in 2018, the area was represented by Republicans. Curtis Hertel will almost certainly be running against another former State Senator, Tom Barrett, who lost to Rep. Slotkin in 2022 by a little more than five points.