Latest news with #CurtisHertel
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
To The Point: New Michigan Democratic, Republican party chairs
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — On this 'To The Point,' the two major political parties in the state both have new leadership. We'll introduce the new chairmen this week. For the Democrats, the new leader is former state Sen. Curtis Hertel, Jr. 'We all want (the) government to work faster, we also would like (the) government to work. I think that's where you can look and see what's happening right now in the Trump administration where you have a billionaire making all these random cuts that are actually affecting real people on the ground and (the) government isn't working for them,' he said. And for the Republicans, the new leader is current state Sen. Jim Runestad. 'I think it's going to be a completely different experience for particularly the grassroots activist, the base of the party out there to see somebody who's going to be coming out and visiting them, and I've already committed to doing that. Going around the state and organizing that and making sure that we're doing candidate recruitment,' he said. All that and more on this 'To The Point' episode for the weekend of March 22. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Curtis Hertel elected Chair of Michigan Democratic Party
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The Michigan Democratic Party has elected former State Sen. Curtis Hertel as the new party Chair. The Party says this follows former Chair Lavora Barnes's decision to step down from the position. The election was made earlier today at the Michigan Democratic Party Spring State convention. Hertel released the following statement after stepping into his new role: Working people deserve better, and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves to ensure Democrats can deliver at every level of the ballot in Michigan. As we face the fiercest test of our democracy in our lifetime, Michigan Democrats are stepping up to fight back and protect our communities all across the state. We are going to hold Republicans accountable for each and every time they've sold out middle-class Michiganders to pad the pockets of billionaires. Curtis Hertel, news release Hertel lost to Tom Barrett in the U.S. House 7th District election in Nov. 2024 by nearly four percentage points. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
22-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Michigan Republicans and Democrats each select new party chair
Michigan Republicans and Democrats have each elected a new chair who will lead their respective parties into the 2026 midterms, when several key races will be decided including a critical U.S. Senate seat. Both parties held conventions in Detroit on Saturday. Republicans running with Runestad Michigan Republicans elected State Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, as their new party chair, according to the Associated Press. Runestad whipped more delegates after two rounds of voting to secure the position, despite ongoing criticism that he will be working two jobs between his elected office and the party chairmanship. He said he will not be stepping down from the Legislature and dismissed the concerns, saying because Republicans are in the minority in the Senate, it will not take much of his time. The 2025 convention at Huntington Place ran more accordingly than in 2024 when former GOP chairperson Kristina Karamo was escorted out of the event. "I believe this is a good look of the good fortune and the blessings that we will have moving forward, and how the party has learned from our past and we're going to move forward with unity and win," said Bree Moeggengerg, state committee woman for District 2. Curtis Hertel selected by Democrats Michigan Democrats during their spring convention at the Detroit Marriott picked former state lawmaker Curtis Hertel as their party chair. "Working people deserve better, and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves to ensure Democrats can deliver at every level of the ballot in Michigan," Hertel said in a written statement Saturday. Hertel unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House in the 2024 election, losing to former state lawmaker and Army veteran Tom Barrett by nearly 4 percentage points. Michigan is set to be a key state to watch in the 2026 midterms, when Democrats will try to end Republicans' control of the U.S. House and Senate in hopes of blunting Trump's agenda. In late January, Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, said he won't seek reelection in 2026. Democrat Elissa Slotkin narrowly defeated Republican Mike Rogers for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2024.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
2 candidates for Michigan Democratic Chair share strategies for rebuilding party
The Brief Lavora Barnes is the outgoing state chair of the Democratic Party. Two candidates to replace her, Curtis Hertel and Al BJ Williams, spoke to FOX 2 about their vision going forward. The Michigan GOP chair favorite to fill that vacancy is Meshawn Maddock. FOX 2 - The race for the chair of each major state party is heating up with a few Democratic contenders in play speaking to FOX 2. Lavora Barnes is the outgoing chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, after being elected in February of 2019. Big picture view Curtis Hertel, a former state senator, is running to replace her, focusing on getting out into the community to become more accessible. A major contender is Al BJ Williams, also focusing on accessibility. He says the need to be in the community is also key. he feels that the Democratic Party really needs to step things up when it comes to making sure everyone can participate. He's looking for more wins, rebuilding the party from the bottom up. "I got into this race because voices were not being valued," he said. "I got into this race because we needed to be more inclusive. I got into this race to make sure that the democratic party stands on its values, the true values that have ran our party for the past, I don't know, 10 decades. One of them is inclusion." Hertel shared his thoughts on the future of the party. "One, we need to get back to a working families agenda," he said. "Two, we need to get back to more boots on the ground. And three, we need to refocus our campaigns not just on the top of the ticket, but also about the state senate races and state house races and county commission and school board that actually touches people's lives. "We have gotten away from that local focus on grassroots." On the Republican side, the leadership in the state party will also see a change with Meshawn Maddock. The MAGA activist was previously charged with being a fake elector for Donald Trump back in 2020, and has gotten the nod from the president to run the party in Michigan. Maddock is looking to be the party's chair. We're going to find out what happens after Saturday's state GOP convention. The Source Information for this story was gathered from interviews with Curtis Hertel and Al BJ Williams.
