The race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District is generating national attention as Republicans attempt to tie their Democratic opponent to a controversial deal with a Chinese Communist Party-backed company.

Michigan Republicans are calling on former Democratic State Sen. Curtis Hertel, who is currently running to represent Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, to break his silence on a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) he signed in order to obtain details on controversial plans to use taxpayer funds to help build an electric vehicle battery plant in west Michigan owned by a company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The plant, which was announced by Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in October 2022, was set to get millions in incentives as part of a deal with Michigan lawmakers and Green Charter Township, with promises of bringing over 2,000 jobs to the area.

But the project quickly drew the ire of local voters, in large part due to the company behind the plant, Gotion Inc., being a subsidiary of Gotion High-Tech, which has strong ties to the Chinese Communist Party. 

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Last fall, local voters ousted five of the seven township board members over their support of the project, while the other two members resigned.

That controversy has now bled over into the race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, one of the few true toss-up House races in the state, thanks to Hertel being one of several lawmakers from both parties to sign the NDA with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation that allowed them to learn about and negotiate details on the proposed plans for the plant.

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is vacating her seat in Michigan’s 7th District to pursue a run for U.S. Senate, recently spoke out against the Gotion deal, further intensifying calls on Hertel to do the same.

“To me, until there’s a national security vetting, I don’t love the idea of moving forward on any project or any sale of farmland” to a Chinese entity, Slotkin told reporters at a campaign event earlier this month. “I believe that we need to not just think about economic [aspects], but also about the national security implications of Chinese-affiliated companies.”

Rep. Elissa Slotkin. (Getty Images)

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“Hertel must answer whether or not he agrees with his comrade pal Elissa Slotkin, and if he regrets signing the NDA to sell out Michigan taxpayers to the CCP,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella.

The controversy over the plant has also garnered attention in the presidential race, with former President Donald Trump saying on Truth social last month that he is “100% OPPOSED” to the plant, adding that Gotion “would put Michiganders under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.”

Meanwhile, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, highlighted the controversy during a campaign stop in Michigan last week.

“I think the most important thing is we have to stop paying Chinese manufacturers to manufacture, whether it’s here or overseas,” Vance told reporters in Michigan after his speech. “We want to build an American manufacturing industry and an American middle class. If we want to pursue these policies, let’s do them for Americans and American businesses.”

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Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks at NMC-Wollard Inc. / Wollard International on August 07, 2024 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

But questions over Hertel’s involvement in the project continue to be the focus of Michigan Republicans, most notably after it was reported last year that Hertel was on of several Democratic lawmakers in the state to receive funds from a Political Action Committee (PAC) linked to the law office of Warner Norcross + Judd, a firm acting as a foreign agent to represent Gotion.

According to a Fox News report last September, the firm’s PAC donated $2,400 to the state campaign for Hertel, who represented Michigan’s 23rd State Senate district from 2015 until January.

One lawmaker who did not sign an NDA related to the project is former Republican State Sen. Tom Barrett, Hertel’s opponent in the race for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Barrett has also seized on the controversy, arguing Hertel owes people an explanation for his involvement with the project.

“Curtis Hertel, a 22-year career politician, owes the people of Mid-Michigan an explanation as to why he signed a secret NDA to give $175 million of their tax dollars to a CCP-backed company,” Barrett told Fox News Digital. “The fact that he took money from foreign agents on behalf of Gotion should disqualify him from Congress.”

Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, Hertel campaign communications director Sam Kwait-Spitzer dismissed the claims by Republicans as a “false attack.”

“Curtis signed no NDA with Gotion, and Tom Barrett is trying to cover for his own record of voting against 5,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs here in Mid-Michigan and trying to cede the future of the auto industry to China,” he said.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., has come under increased scrutiny over her years-long relationship with a private wealth adviser whom she owns a residence with, but since the two are unmarried, she is not required by Senate rules to disclose her partner’s finances. 

“Sen. Baldwin’s partner, Maria Brisbane, advises the uber wealthy on industries regulated by Baldwin, creating a massive conflict of interest that merits further investigation. Sen. Baldwin should immediately disclose her partner’s assets and client list – the people of Wisconsin deserve transparency,” said a spokesperson for Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde in a recent statement. 

Brisbane, whom Baldwin has been dating since 2018, works as a private wealth adviser with the Brisbane Group, which is a wealth management team under the Morgan Stanley umbrella. In her capacity in the role, she serves clients with “ultra high net worth,” the website says.

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Per Morgan Stanley’s code of conduct, “Examples of confidential information include the identity of our clients, Firm and client trading activities and securities holdings, acquisition, divestiture and tender offer plans, supervisory activities of the Firm’s regulators and Personally Identifiable Information relating to clients and employees.”

The Fix Washington PAC, which is promoting Hovde in the competitive Wisconsin Senate race, recently cut an ad about Brisbane and Baldwin, their shared residence and Brisbane’s client list. 

“They spend their time in New York and D.C. in their multimillion-dollar homes, but Baldwin fails to report their jointly owned assets or Maria’s clients, who get rich off industries that Tammy regulates,” the ad said. “That’s a conflict of interest raising serious ethical questions to face Tammy Baldwin.”

It’s true that Baldwin does not disclose Brisbane’s assets or client list in her own financial disclosures. However, she is not required to by the current rules. 

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Baldwin has dated Brisbane since 2018. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for The Democratic Party of Wisconsin)

Baldwin responded to the ad with one of her own, titled, “Complete lie.”

“This ad is a complete lie,” it said. “The truth is Tammy Baldwin’s never shared inside information with her partner and Tammy Baldwin’s leading the fight to ban senators from purchasing any individual stocks.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Baldwin campaign spokesperson Andrew Mamo said, “Eric Hovde’s attempt to attack the woman Tammy Baldwin is dating is sad and desperate. Tammy works for the people of Wisconsin and only the people of Wisconsin. No matter how low Eric Hovde goes, voters will not forget about the massive conflict of interest presented by his continued ownership of his $3 billion California bank that receives deposits from unnamed foreign banks and governments.” 

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Hovde has called for Brisbane’s ties to industries Baldwin regulates to be investigated. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, file)

Her campaign also pointed out other senators who have been in dating relationships that did not disclose their partner’s assets, such as Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Cory Booker, D-N.J.

Part of the charges by Hovde and his campaign about the supposed conflict of interest posed by Baldwin’s partner and their status as unmarried, is Brisbane’s previous role as manager of a biotechnology mutual fund, per a progress report from 2017 for the Cancer Research & Treatment Fund (CR&T). 

Brisbane further listed on her firm’s previous archived website under Merrill Private Wealth Management that she “manages custom-tailored equity portfolios that place emphasis on large-growth stocks – with an effort to enhance performance through small biotechnology and technology companies.”

Because her clients are confidential, it’s unknown who they are and what interests they may have. 

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Part of the concern put forward by Hovde is that Baldwin serves as chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee’s Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies subcommittee. 

“Tammy regulates the biotech industry,” an ad from his campaign said last week. “Maria advises clients in the biotech industry. If they were married, they would have to disclose their financial conflicts. But they aren’t married, so they can share inside information to get rich. It’s time to investigate Sen. Tammy Baldwin. She’s in bed with Wall Street.”

While Baldwin and Brisbane are not married, they purchased a residence in Washington, D.C., together and share it. Both of their names are on the property’s deed. According to Baldwin’s campaign, the two split the cost of the condominium and Brisbane paid for hers in cash while Baldwin took out a mortgage on her half. 

The campaign also said Baldwin and Brisbane do not share bank accounts.

In a recent Marquette University Law School poll, Baldwin led Hovde 51% to 45% among registered voters in Wisconsin. 

Top political handicapper, the Cook Political Report, rated the election as a slight advantage for Baldwin, labeling it “lean Democrat,” alongside several other competitive Senate races. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.