Michigan
Michigan Republican Tom Barrett seeks do-over in critical House race with one edge: ‘My opponent is not a woman’ – Washington Examiner
EXCLUSIVE — The abortion matter was a political albatross for former Michigan Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett’s first campaign for Michigan‘s 7th Congressional District, one of the country’s most expensive races last election cycle.
But with eventual winner Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a second-term incumbent, running for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, Barrett is hoping the matter will be less politically charged now, particularly after the state constitutionally protected access to the procedure in 2022.
During an hourlong interview with the Washington Examiner at his campaign headquarters in Lansing, Barrett, 42, downplayed the possibility to “ever replicate the intensity around the [abortion] issue that it had in 2022.”
“Roe v. Wade had just been overturned, 50 years of precedent, and all of a sudden, we wake up the next day, and that’s not the case anymore,” Barrett said. “And then, at the same time, Michigan had this pending ballot, constitutional amendment, to ratify a pretty extreme pro-abortion standard in Michigan in our constitution.”
While contending that Democrats are underscoring abortion to overshadow concerns regarding the southern border, the cost of living, and crime, Barrett, a former Michigan state representative and Army veteran, also argued that members of Congress have “a lot smaller of a role as it relates to abortion policy.” Regardless, Democrats — including one-time state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., a declared candidate for Michigan’s 7th District — are preparing to criticize him for his abortion positions, especially his stance on a federal ban.
“The fundamentals of this race remain the same: Tom Barrett supports banning abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest and voted five times against legislation that is creating thousands of good paying union jobs in mid-Michigan,” a Hertel spokeswoman told the Washington Examiner. “Voters already rejected his out-of-touch extremism once and will do so again next November.”
Barrett reiterated his defense of his 2021 opposition to the incentives for a new General Motors electric vehicle battery factory in nearby Delta Township.
“It was easy to attack me on it under the guise of, ‘Look what’s going to happen’ and ‘Tom Barrett voted against X number of jobs,’” he said. “That’s a potent attack. But when you explain to people the cost per job, that the corporate executives are going to be getting all this money and very little of it is going to be given to the actual workers doing the jobs, and you point out the national security concerns and other things, I think you erode the public support for a program.”
Barrett is the only Republican who has announced a campaign for the 7th District, a central Michigan district anchored by Lansing and whose lines between Detroit and Grand Rapids were redrawn in 2022 because of post-2020 census redistricting. And with Hertel, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer‘s (D-MI) former legislative director, the only declared Democrat, the pair’s primary posturing is a preview of their likely general election, considered a Democratic-leaning toss-up contest by prognosticators, such as the CookPoliticalReport. Their respective primaries are not until August.
Aside from abortion, Barrett attributed his 2022 campaign loss to Slotkin’s incumbency advantage — for example, the former CIA analyst and Pentagon official’s fundraising edge — as well as problems with the top of the then-Republican ticket, namely GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon. For reference, Slotkin’s campaign raised $9.9 million two years ago, compared to Barrett’s $2.8 million, excluding outside fundraising and spending. She won Michigan’s 7th District by 6 points, 52% to Barrett’s 46%, or 20,185 votes.
“My opponent is not a woman. He does not have the depth of resources that Slotkin had. The top of the ticket should be far more competitive. The abortion proposal, which dominated the race and every race in America seemingly two years ago, is not on the ballot in Michigan this year,” Barrett said. “In addition to that, I feel like the same issues that we were really highlighting in 2022 — cost of living, energy, national security, the border, crime, all of these things — are as bad or worse today as they were in 2022.”
“I already know people in the district. I’m not meeting them all for the first time,” he added. “It’s never easy to raise money, but it’s a little bit easier when donors are a little more familiar with you because they’ve heard your name before.”
Hertel, though, also has name recognition, with his father, Curtis Hertel Sr., serving as co-speaker of Michigan’s House of Representatives from 1993 to 1994, and his brother, Kevin Hertel, winning his state Senate campaign in 2022.
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With Barrett repeating that his 2024 campaign could be “the end of the road” for his political career, he was simultaneously “cognizant of the challenges” should he win in November and become part of a U.S. House Republican conference that appears to disagree with him largely, specifically on foreign policy.
“We essentially have a tied game in the U.S. House right now, so it makes it extremely difficult to govern from that standpoint,” he said. “I don’t go into this with rose-colored lenses. My best-case scenario is I win this election, and then the hard work really starts in trying to govern this country and move us in the right direction, in spite of the challenges that we’re facing, in spite of all the differences that we have, in spite of the overheated political rhetoric. We still got to do our part to move the country in the right place.”
Michigan
Legal experts question University of Michigan’s role after charges against former HC Sherrone Moore
WASHTENAW COUNTY, Mich. – Former Michigan Wolverines head football coach Sherrone Moore appeared in court Friday on charges of stalking, home invasion, and breaking and entering, just days after being fired from his position.
The 39-year-old coach, who has no prior criminal history, was terminated by the university on Wednesday following an investigation that uncovered evidence of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
According to prosecutors, the charges stem from an incident that occurred after the victim, a University of Michigan staff member, ended her relationship with Moore on Monday (Dec. 8).
Following the breakup, Moore allegedly made numerous unwanted calls and texts to the victim.
The situation escalated on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2025, when Moore allegedly forced his way into the victim’s Pittsfield Township apartment.
Prosecutors say he grabbed kitchen utensils and threatened to take his own life, allegedly telling the victim, “My blood is on your hands.”
“The totality of the behavior is highly threatening and highly intimidating. She was terrorized, your honor,” a prosecutor told the court during Friday’s arraignment.
Defense attorney Joseph Simon pushed back on prosecutors’ claims that Moore could be a threat to public safety.
“My client’s 39 years old, with zero prior criminal history, zero prior contact with the criminal justice system in any fashion,” Simon stated.
Attorney Todd Flood, who practices both criminal defense and civil litigation, said the fallout within the university could continue depending on when the organization was first alerted about the relationship and how university athletic officials first responded.
“What did they know, when did they know it, and what did they do about it when they found out? Those are going to be the three major questions,” Flood said.
“The university could possibly have some culpability there, that they didn’t put a stop to this,” noted Flood, adding that the victim may have grounds to pursue action against both the university and Moore.
Flood said the stalking charge against Moore likely stems from a documented pattern of harassment.
“When there is a position where he is harassing, either via text messages, harassing via telephone calls, social media content, or showing up at a place where he doesn’t belong,” Flood said. “Those stalking charges are ones where you can show that pattern of conduct.”
“He’s ultimately going to probably plead this case out, under some sort of either misdemeanor, or something that gives probation,” Flood said.
Moore posted his $25,000 bond Friday.
As part of his bond conditions, he must wear a GPS tether, undergo mental health treatment, and have no contact with the victim.
He is scheduled to appear in court in person on Jan. 22.
–> Jim Harbaugh talks Sherrone Moore’s firing, arrest after former Michigan football understudy posts bond
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Michigan
What we’re hearing in Michigan football coach search: News, rumors
Sherrone Moore fired: Who could replace him at Michigan football?
Michigan beat writer Tony Garcia on who the Wolverines could target after firing Sherrone Moore on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
With the firing of Sherrone Moore on Wednesday, Dec. 10, Michigan football is on the hunt for a new head coach.
It’s extremely late in the hiring cycle, with nearly every Power Four squad with an opening already having made a hire. But the Wolverines’ maize-and-blue brand could be strong enough to restart the coaching carousel, with several established coaches considered potential candidates for the U-M job.
It’ll be athletic director Warde Manuel’s call on the hire (with the usual inputs from donors and regents), despite rumors swirling on social media of his firing.
Here’s the latest on the Michigan football coaching search:
A former Notre Dame QB as Michigan football’s next head coach?
It’s possible.
Michigan football is reportedly interested in talking to Rees, according to Cleveland.com, who starred as a quarterback at Notre Dame. He moved up the coaching ranks fast, getting his big break as offensive coordinator with Notre Dame in 2020, where he served in the role for three years before moving to Alabama to be the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide in Nick Saban’s last year. He has spent the last two years with the Browns, first as a passing game specialist and then as offensive coordinator this year.
Rees also reportedly talked to Penn State before the Nittany Lions landed on Iowa State coach Matt Campbell.
It’s an interesting proposition, as Rees is seen as an up-and-coming young coach, but it can be wonky trying to hire NFL coaches into the college game due to the schedule. But in this circumstance, it just might work. The Browns are out of playoff contention so their season should drag out, and Michigan is in a position to wait longer than normal because early signing day for recruits is over and the transfer portal won’t open until January.
It’s early.
Michigan still has time to make a case.
But according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, there’s “no indication” that Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, one of the hottest names in connection to the Wolverines, has an interest in taking the job in Ann Arbor.
DeBoer, who has Alabama in the 12-team College Football Playoff, was also briefly connected to Penn State earlier this offseason and quickly shot that down.
But never say never in college football in 2025.
If Michigan is looking to swing big for its third head coach in four seasons (or seventh, if you count the interims who served during Moore’s and Jim Harbaugh’s suspensions), the Free Press’ Tony Garcia broke down four big names, including a couple with established ties to Ann Arbor, one who couldn’t quite beat the Wolverines and another who’s the darling of the college football world.
Check out that list of candidates here.
Michigan
Bullough’s back: Ex-linebacker to be Michigan State co-defensive coordinator
A fan-favorite Spartan is coming back as an assistant coach.Max Bullough, a former MSU linebacker who has spent the past two seasons coaching linebackers at Notre Dame, is coming back to East Lansing to be a co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, Bullough confirmed in a biography change on X (formerly Twitter).
The move is a promotion for Bullough, who was a linebackers coach at Notre Dame the past two seasons. Bullough will serve alongside incumbent MSU defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, who The Detroit News confirmed last week is staying on Pat Fitzgerald’s first staff in East Lansing. Fitzgerald replaced Jonathan Smith, who went 5-19, 4-14 Big Ten in two seasons.Bullough, 33, played for Michigan State from 2010 to 2013, under head coach Mark Dantonio and defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi. He played immediately as a freshman and appeared in 53 college games, logging 284 tackles, eight sacks and three interceptions.
He missed his final game — the 100th Rose Bowl against Stanford in 2013 — because of an unspecified violation of team rules. He never spoke publicly on the issue, though he was asked at the NFL Combine.Michigan State went 42-12 in Bullough’s four seasons with the Spartans, and 25-7 in Big Ten play, including the conference title in 2010 and 2013.After a brief NFL career with the Houston Texans and, in 2018, a stint on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad, Bullough got into coaching. He served as grad assistant for Cincinnati in 2019 under Luke Fickell, Alabama from 2020 to 2022 under Nick Saban (winning the College Football Playoff in his first year) and Notre Dame under Marcus Freeman in 2023. Freeman kept Bullough on as his linebackers coach last year, a season in which the Irish made it to the national championship game before losing to Ohio State.
Earlier this season, Bullough went viral in August for a video of him describing his detail-oriented approach during fall camp, citing knee bend and square tackling “when the s—‘s hard.”
Notre Dame finished the season 10-2, on a 10-game win streak, when it was left just outside the College Football Playoff bracket. Freeman and his team opted out of a bowl game, after terse words on the snub from AD Pete Bevacqua.Bullough coached a number of NFL draft picks in his career, including Dallas Turner (Minnesota Vikings), Christian Harris (Houston Texans), Henry To’oTo’o (Houston), Drew Sanders (Denver Broncos) and Jack Kiser (Jacksonville Jaguars).
Bullough won’t be the first in his family to coach at Michigan State. His grandfather, Hank, was an MSU guard and linebacker who won a national championship in 1952. Hank was also a well-regarded assistant coach on Duffy Daugherty’s staff from 1959 to 1969, including the national title teams in 1965 and 1966. He then went onto a pro coaching career that included stops with seven teams, including a head coaching tenure with the Buffalo Bills from 1985 to 1986.
After a year as the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator in 1993, he finished his coaching career with a homecoming to Michigan State, where he was an assistant on George Perles’ final team. He died in 2019.
cearegood@detroitnews.com
@ConnorEaregood
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