| Tom Barrett | |
| State: | Michigan |
| Term Start: | January 3, 2025 |
| Succeeding: | Elissa Slotkin |
| State Senate1: | Michigan |
| District1: | 24th |
| Term Start1: | January 1, 2019 |
| Term End1: | January 1, 2023 |
| Predecessor1: | Rick Jones |
| Successor1: | Ruth Johnson |
| State House2: | Michigan |
| District2: | 71st |
| Term Start2: | January 1, 2015 |
| Term End2: | January 1, 2019 |
| Predecessor2: | Theresa Abed |
| Successor2: | Angela Witwer |
| Birth Date: | 30 April 1981 |
| Birth Place: | Southfield, Michigan, U.S. |
| Party: | Republican |
| Relatives: | Louis C. Rabaut (great-grandfather) |
| Education: | Western Michigan University (BA) |
| Branch: | United States Army |
| Serviceyears: | 2001–2022 |
| Rank: | Chief Warrant Officer 2 |
| Unit: | Michigan Army National Guard |
Thomas More Barrett[1] (born April 30, 1981) is an American politician who served as a member of the Michigan Senate from the 24th district from 2019 to 2023. A Republican, he previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019.[2] [3]
Barrett was the Republican nominee in the 2022 election for Michigan's 7th congressional district, which he lost to incumbent Democrat Elissa Slotkin. He ran for the same seat again in 2024, defeating Democratic nominee Curtis Hertel Jr.
Barrett was born in Southfield, Michigan on April 30, 1981.[4] He graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.[5]
After graduating from high school, Barrett joined the Army, where he served for 21 years. He served abroad in South Korea, Guantanamo Bay, Kuwait, and Iraq, and is a veteran of both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He served in the Michigan Army National Guard, holding the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2, until retiring in 2022.[6]
Prior to running for public office, Barrett worked as an analyst for the Michigan Department of the Treasury.[7] [8]
Barrett was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2014, narrowly beating Democratic incumbent Theresa Abed.[9] He won re-election in 2016, defeating Theresa Abed in a rematch. Barrett garnered 54% of the vote to Abed's 43% and Libertarian Marc Lord's 3%.[10]
Barrett was elected to the Michigan Senate in 2018, and in 2022 chaired the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.[11]
Barrett was a vocal critic of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and sponsored Senate Bill 858 to regulate the governor's state of emergency powers, which the governor vetoed in May 2020.[12] [13]
Barrett was one of eleven state senators to sign a letter to Congress requesting, in January 2021, an "objective and transparent investigation into credible allegations of misconduct" in the 2020 presidential election.[14] [15] In September 2022, Barrett said that the legitimacy of the 2020 election is "unknowable".[16] [17]
In November 2021, Barrett announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2022 election for Michigan's 7th congressional district.[18] He won the Republican primary in August 2022, but lost to Democratic incumbent Elissa Slotkin in the November general election,[19] receiving 46% of the vote to her 52%.[20]
Bridge Michigan reported that, as of October 12, 2022, this was the most costly congressional election in the U.S.[21] By November 4, over $36 million had been spent by both campaigns.
Barrett ran again for election in 2024 for the same district. He defeated Democratic nominee Curtis Hertel Jr. in the general election.[22]
Barrett lives in Charlotte, Michigan, with his wife, Ashley, and their four children.[23] His great-grandfather, Louis C. Rabaut, represented Michigan's 14th congressional district as a Democrat from 1935 to 1947 and from 1949 to 1961.[24] During the congressional office lottery for the 119th Congress, Barrett asked his colleagues to consider leaving Longworth 1232 vacant, which they did, so he could claim the same office held by Rabaut in 1954.[25]