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Hertel elected MI Dem chair

Curtis Hertel, Jr. was selected as chair of the Michigan Democratic Party during its spring convention.
Rick Pluta
/
MPRN
Curtis Hertel, Jr. was selected as chair of the Michigan Democratic Party during its spring convention.

Michigan Democrats have selected veteran political figure Curtis Hertel Jr. to serve as their new party chair headed into a very consequential election cycle next year.

Hertel was approved by acclamation after the only other contender dropped out. Hertel said he wants the Michigan Democratic Party to be more aggressive in reaching out to people and it needs to more engaged in races up and down the ballot.

“I want to win the governor’s race and we’re certainly going to invest a lot of time there,” he said, “but winning the governor without winning the House and the Senate is really just (being) a goalie. I want to go on offense and actually get things done for people.”

Hertel replaces Lavora Barnes, who led the party since 2019. She is the first Black Michigan party chair. She chose not to seek another term following the 2024 election.

Hertel is a former county official, state senator and advisor to Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Democrats are still smarting from losing control of the state House to Republicans in the 2024 election when President Donald Trump also won Michigan.

There is a lot at stake in the coming election cycle with open races for governor, attorney general, secretary of state and a U.S. Senate seat. Also, control of the state House and Senate will be at stake.

Hertel said restoring the Democrats’ trifecta control of the governor’s office, the House and the Senate is a top priority.
Hertel told the convention that Democrats need to work in between elections to connect with voters and to offer progressive solutions to housing, employment and economic challenges, and stand up for reproductive freedom and civil rights.

“If we are not that party, that party will not exist in this country,” he said.

There was low-simmering tensions over differences within the party over Gaza and bills signed Friday by Whitmer that pulled back increases in the state minimum wage and earned sick time. The adoption of those laws outraged many progressives and union members, especially because some Democrats in the Legislature voted for the measures. The alternative would have been to allow the petition-initiated laws to take effect under a ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court.

Delegate Danielle Atkinson was a leader of the earned sick leave campaign. She said Whitmer and Democrats who voted to dilute the initiatives are ignoring the Democratic Party base. She said the convention was an opportunity to confront and connect with lawmakers.

“And … just asking the question and hoping that they understand their base is not with them on the vote that they just took,” she said, “and so if there is a next vote, if there’s a next issue, they turn to community and ask them whether or not they are supportive.”

Next year, Democratic and Republican voters will choose gubernatorial candidates in party primaries. The nominees for lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state will be chosen by convention delegates.

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987.