Former Michigan state Sen. Tom Barrett (R) will win his House race to represent the state’s 7th Congressional District, flipping the seat to GOP hands, Decision Desk HQ projects.
Barrett defeated Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr., also a former state senator, in the open seat being vacated by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D), who decided against seeking another term to instead run for the state’s open Senate seat.
Slotkin defeated Barrett for reelection to the House seat in 2022 by 5 points, but Republicans had hoped for a pickup opportunity this year without Slotkin, a moderate considered one of the most bipartisan members of the House.
And Barrett seemed to have a better chance at winning this time, as the forecast from DDHQ/The Hill had him as a slight favorite and a few polls showed him slightly ahead. The win is an important pickup for the GOP as it tries to give itself a little more breathing room to expand its House majority.
