Curtis Hertel

Curtis Hertel (Democratic Party) was a member of the Michigan State Senate, representing District 23. He assumed office on January 1, 2015. He left office on January 1, 2023.

Hertel (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 7th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Hertel has served as the Ingham County Register of Deeds.^[1]

Biography

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Hertel earned his bachelor's degree from the James Madison College at Michigan State University in political science.^[1]

In 2001, Hertel was elected Ignham County Commissioner. He served until 2008. During that time, he served as Constituent Relations Director for the House Democratic Caucus.^[1]

He was elected as the Ingham County Register of Deeds. His first term was from 2008 to 2012.^[1]

For six years, Hertel worked for the Department of Community Health. He also served as the Department’s legislative liaison.^[1]

Hertel is the president of the Michigan Association of Register of Deeds, a member of the Sierra Club and member of the local Rotary Club.^[1]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at:editor@ballotpedia.org.

2021-2022

Hertel was assigned to the following committees:

Advice and Consent Committee, Minority vice-chair
Senate Appropriations Committee, Minority vice-chair
Health Policy and Human Services

2019-2020

Hertel was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Michigan committee assignments, 2017
• Appropriations
• Banking & Financial Institutions
• Commerce
• Health Policy
• Regulatory Reform

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Hertel served on the following committees:

Michigan committee assignments, 2015
• Appropriations
• Banking and Financial Institutions, Minority Vice Chair
• Commerce, Minority Vice Chair
• Health Policy, Minority Vice Chair
• Regulatory Reform

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Curtis Hertel did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Hertel’s campaign website stated the following:

“

On the Issues

Jobs & The Economy
Curtis is leading the fight to bring next generation auto plants to Michigan, not China. He negotiated with GM to bring electric-vehicle and advanced battery manufacturing to the Lansing and Detroit regions. And he worked with both Democrats and Republicans to pass the law to get it done. In Congress, he will work to bring supply chains home, keep manufacturing moving, and create good-paying jobs in Mid-Michigan for everyone, not just those with a college degree.

“The Michigan we grew up in led the world in auto manufacturing, but politicians sold us out and let our jobs get outsourced, and Michigan suffered. We are turning that around and bringing the factories and the jobs that are the future of auto production here – battery plants and next-gen cars. We pulled Democrats and Republicans together to get that done, and it is a generational win for Mid-Michigan”

“It’s hard to believe that some legislators were arguing against the GM deal that is bringing a critical auto supply chain to mid-Michigan. To me, it was a no-brainer, which is why we worked so hard to get it done.”

Curtis has worked with both parties to help working families keep more of their hard-earned money. Governor Whitmer tapped him to work with Democrats and Republicans in the legislature to pass tax cuts, including ending the retirement tax. He also led the successful legislative fights to expand workers’ rights to bargain for better pay, and to cut the cost of prescription drugs.

Prior to his work in the legislature, Curtis also served on the Ingham County Commission and as Ingham County’s Register of Deeds, where he helped to uncover one of the largest cases of foreclosure fraud in Michigan history. Curtis and his team took some of the biggest banks in the country to court to preserve the homes of people who had been cheated.

“I was disgusted when I saw big banks kicking families out of their homes during the foreclosure crisis – even using forged documents to pad their own profits, so I sued them. It was time someone held big banks accountable to protect Michiganders.”

Voting Rights & Protecting Democracy
Curtis knows that our democracy is in grave danger, and is running for office to protect it from those threatening it. Politicians who try to overturn election results they disagree with have no place in our government. Curtis supports passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and taking action at the national level to defend voting rights across the country.

Reproductive Rights
Curtis will protect a woman’s right to abortion, and stand up to anyone who tries to limit the health care women can access. He stood up against Republicans in Lansing trying to ban abortion and led the fight to repeal Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban. In Congress, he will always stand on the side of women and protecting abortion rights.

Gun Safety
Curtis’s son is a student at MSU and was on campus the night of the unthinkable mass shooting that killed three students, injured five more, and terrified all Michiganders. In the wake of that tragedy, Curtis led the team that passed bi-partisan common sense gun safety legislation, including red flag and safe storage laws and extreme risk protection orders.

“My heart sank when my son called me the night of the shooting, asking me what to barricade the door with. Like any parent, my immediate concern was my family, but in the days and weeks after that horrible night we all knew that we had to act. A national problem became a personal tragedy. I’m a proud Spartan myself, and I’m proud of how we came together to finally pass meaningful laws to help protect Michigan kids.”

Climate Change & The Environment
Curtis understands that climate change is already having a significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of Michiganders. Taking action now means both addressing the immediate needs of communities affected by climate change and working towards a more sustainable future built with good-paying, union jobs.

With rising temperatures and stronger, more unpredictable weather events the new norm, we need to be supporting Michigan’s agricultural industry and working to support families affected by storm damage and rising insurance costs.

Like all Michiganders, Curtis knows that our lakes and waterways are special, and must be protected. He will build on efforts to remove and prevent PFAS from our waters.

Health Care
Over the course of his career, Curtis has led the fight to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Michigan families and seniors and expand access to affordable health care. He also fought to allow Michiganders to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable when they put their own profits over people’s lives.

Curtis will fight to protect the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid from Republicans who continue to try to take away care for seniors and people with pre-existing conditions, and make it more difficult for families to afford quality health care. ^[2]

”

—Curtis Hertel’s campaign website (2024)^[3]

2014

Hertel listed the following issues on his campaign website:^[4]

Early childhood education

Excerpt: "We must make sure that there is equality of opportunity when it comes to early childhood education and we must invest as a state in the option for universal preschool."

Public education

Excerpt: "My first priority, to ensure success for our children and our state, is to make sure teachers, local school boards, and support staff have the funding and necessary tools to develop our most important asset as a state — our children."

Higher education

Excerpt: "We need to continue investing in our community college system."

Abortion

Excerpt: "I also strongly believe in a woman’s right to choose, and oppose any intrusion by the State of Michigan into a decision that should be made between a woman and her doctor. The Michigan legislature passed a new law this year that would require a woman to buy a separate insurance rider to cover abortion, even in the extreme cases of rape, incest, or in instances that would protect the life & health of the mother. I find this type of legislation to be extremely offensive, and will do everything I can as a legislator to repeal it."

Equal pay

Excerpt: "I strongly support legislation that will require businesses to treat men and women equally."

Senior citizens

Excerpt: "Senior pensions are now taxed, for the first time in Michigan’s history, thanks to the recent legislation that was signed by Governor Synder. This is outlandish for two reasons: first, many of our seniors live on a fixed income and had made their retirement plans not knowing of this new tax burden. More egregious, the Governor decided to use this increase in taxes to give a massive tax cut to corporations and CEOs in Michigan. As your State Senator, I will never overlook the needs of our seniors to cater to powerful interest groups."

LGBTQ

Excerpt: "LGBT citizens should be able to work without the fear of being fired for who they are. Marriage equality should be recognized, and Michigan should no longer stand in the way of adoption rights for LGBT couples."

Roads

Excerpt: "It is estimated that it will take over $2 billion dollars a year in order to improve our roads to reasonable standards. We as a state cannot shrink from this responsibility. It will take a combination of increased user fees, taxes, and prioritizing of current funds to fix this massive problem."

Right-to-work

Excerpt: "If elected, I will seek to repeal right-to-work, and fight to protect prevailing wage, and to restore workers’ rights back to the working men and women of Michigan."

Housing

Excerpt: "We must build more protections into the system for citizens who are at risk of losing their most important asset. And we must punish those in the banking industry that have allowed these fraudulent practices to continue, and who rob people of their due process rights."

Healthcare

Excerpt: " Because of the Affordable Care Act, and Michigan Medicaid expansion, we have now dramatically increased the access to care for hundreds of thousands of our Michigan residents. We must protect these gains and make sure that the people of Michigan have access to quality hospitals."

Elections

2024

Michigan's 7th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 Democratic primary)

Michigan's 7th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Michigan District 7

Tom Barrett defeated Curtis Hertel and L. Rachel Dailey in the general election for U.S. House Michigan District 7 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tom Barrett (R)	50.3	226,722
	Curtis Hertel (D)	46.6	209,959
	L. Rachel Dailey (L)	3.2	14,231

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 450,912
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7

Curtis Hertel advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Curtis Hertel	100.0	72,083

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 72,083
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7

Tom Barrett advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 7 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Barrett	100.0	63,399

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 63,399
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Michigan District 7

L. Rachel Dailey advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Michigan District 7 on July 20, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		L. Rachel Dailey (L)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Hertel in this election.

2022

See also: Michigan State Senate elections, 2022

Curtis Hertel was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.