Good morning friend - Exciting news for our campaign. The Cook Political Report just declared Michigan’s 7th Congressional District “the most competitive open seat in the country,” rating it a “pure Toss Up.”

We can win this seat and make sure Republicans hold our majority in Congress. Read the summary below. - Tom

MI-07: OPEN (Slotkin) (D): Toss Up.

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin's Senate run instantly made this Biden +1 district the most competitive open seat in the country. At this point, the race between GOP former state Sen. Tom Barrett and Democratic former state Sen. Curtis Hertel looks like a pure Toss Up.

Barrett is running again in 2024, and Republicans are counting on a much more level playing field. Not only is he no longer up against the Slotkin fundraising juggernaut, he won't suffer from the drag of Proposition 3 — the constitutional amendment that rallied supporters of abortion rights (including in the college town of East Lansing), alienated independent voters from Republicans and propelled Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Slotkin to victory.

The 2024 general election already looks set. After prominent Democrats including Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum and Lansing Mayor Andy Schor passed on running, Slotkin and Democrats coalesced around Hertel. Hertel is the ultimate career politician: First elected to the Ingham CountyCommission in 2000 at age 22, he won a state Senate seat in 2014 and became Whitmer's director of legislative affairs after terming out in 2022.

Hertel's closeness with Whitmer ensures he'll be able to raise plenty of money. But Republicans believe he'll be much easier to attack as a political insider than Barrett, who can at least tout his military service. In particular, Republicans argue Hertel “owns” this year's controversial push by Whitmer and the legislature to pass $175 million in tax incentives for Chinese-owned Gotion Inc. to build a $2.4 billion electric vehicle battery factory in northern Michigan.