Byrum won't run for U.S. House in Michigan swing district
Lansing — Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, a Democrat, announced Thursday that she won't run for Congress in a key mid-Michigan U.S. House district, instead deciding to seek another term in her current job.
Byrum's decision could signal her interest in running for secretary of state, Michigan's top elections administration job, in 2026 and could make former state Sen. Curtis Hertel, D-East Lansing, the most prominent potential Democratic contender in the 7th District, which is rated a tossup by political handicappers.
"I have come to the decision that, while I know I would be an effective member of Congress, my passion is with elections and voter engagement," Byrum said in a statement. "I believe the voters need me to remain here to stand up against the election misinformation and disinformation and ensure their access to the ballot box.
"I will therefore seek reelection to remain Ingham County clerk for a fourth term.”
The 7th District covers Ingham, Livingston, Clinton and Shiawassee counties and parts of Eaton, Oakland and Genesee counties. The seat will be up for grabs next year because its current occupant, three-term U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Lansing, is running for the Senate.
Republican Tom Barrett, a former state senator from Charlotte, lost to Slotkin by 5 percentage points in 2022 and is expected to make another bid for the seat in 2024.
Byrum stepping aside also leaves an opening for Hertel, who's currently serving in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration as legislative affairs director and who is strongly considering a campaign. Hertel could announce his bid for Congress as early as July after helping to negotiate the state's next budget, sources told The Detroit News last week.
When in office, Hertel served as the minority vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and he also helped lead Senate Democrats' campaign operations in 2022 as they won control of the state Senate for the first time in 40 years.
The battle for the open seat in the 7th District could again prove to be costly. The Slotkin-Barrett contest was among the most expensive in the country last year, with the ad-tracking firm AdImpact finding the $36.6 million spent in advertising on the race was the most spent on any U.S. House race in the country in 2022.
Byrum, of Onondaga, previously served in the Michigan House and has been Ingham County's clerk since 2013. She won a third term in the position in 2020 with 68% of the vote. She has become an influential figure on voting policies in Michigan in recent years amid pushes to examine state election laws after the 2020 presidential election.
Byrum is widely expected to campaign for secretary of state in 2026. Michigan's current Democratic secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, can't run again because of term limits.
"Over the last several years I have been in the front row as our Democracy was challenged by Republican legislators and party leaders," Byrum said in her Thursday statement about not running for the U.S. House. "I believe that the voters of Michigan deserve passionate and persistent advocates standing up for their right to have their voices heard and their votes counted."
mburke@detroitnews.com
cmauger@detroitnews.com