Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is threatening the Republican opponent of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s former top lobbyist over what her office describes as a “deeply troubling” proofing error.
“The Department finds the allegations deeply troubling; therefore, you are hereby ordered to cease and desist the dissemination of inaccurate or misleading information about the upcoming General Election and to correct the inaccurate and misleading information already disseminated,” Nessel’s criminal bureau chief, Danielle Hagaman-Clark, wrote in a letter to former state Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, on Monday.
The letter points to Michigan law that bans actions to “deter the elector” from voting.
The letter followed a day after the Democratic Sens. Sarah Anthony, of Lansing, and Erika Geiss, of Taylor, complained to the AG about an ad the Barrett campaign ran in the Black-owned Lansing newspaper The Michigan Bulletin that contained the wrong Election Day.
The complaint noted The Bulletin ad that ran over the weekend stated the election is on Nov. 6, while a similar ad in the Lansing City Pulse had the correct date – Nov. 5.
“Tom Barrett and his campaign have committed a shocking oversight which will undoubtedly lead to confusion by Black voters in Lansing,” Anthony and Geiss wrote in a letter to the AG cited by The Detroit News.
“The only noticeable difference in the ads placed, was the date indicated to vote,” Hagaman-Clark wrote to Barrett. “In The City Pulse ad, the campaign ad states that ‘On November 5 Vote For Tom Barrett.”
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In the cease and desist letter, Hagaman-Clark acknowledged the Barrett campaign has already made plans to correct the issue in The Michigan Bulletin next week.
“We will continue to monitor this situation to ensure that occurs,” Hagaman-Clark wrote. “Moving forward, we expect the campaign to comply with the law and only provide factually correct information regarding Election Day 2024.”
Barrett is facing off against state senator turned top Whitmer lobbyist Curtis Hertel to represent Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, a seat vacated by Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin. Slotkin is running against former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
The race between Hertel and Barrett in a highly competitive swing district, as well as the U.S. Senate race, have resulted in an increased focus on Hertel’s and Slotkin’s roles in negotiating a secret agreement with the Chinese Communist Party linked Gotion to build an electric vehicle battery component plant near Big Rapids.
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Both Slotkin and Hertel signed nondisclosure agreements to participate in negotiations between the Whitmer administration and Gotion officials that shield the public from details about the deal that came with $715 million in taxpayer subsidies and widespread concerns about the potential consequences for national security, the Muskegon River watershed, and government transparency.
Hertel has also faced questions about a role he landed with the nonprofit Greater Flint Health Coalition just one week after resigning from the Whitmer administration, where he negotiated an $82 billion budget that included a $1.5 million grant for the coalition.
Barrett spokesman Jason Roe told The News the campaign was contacted by The Bulletin’s publisher on Saturday about the incorrect election date in the ad, which he said has already been corrected for additional outreach to Black voters through the newspaper.
“It was a minor error which has been corrected and will appear in the next issue of The Michigan Bulletin,” Roe said. “This is much ado about nothing.”
Roe noted in comments to CNN other mailers send to Black voters contained the correct date for Election Day.
“Our campaign has been committed to outreach to the Black community and Black leaders because it is important to Senator Barrett that every community be heard in this election,” Roe said.
Barrett lost his bid for the 7th Congressional District to Slotkin in 2022 by five percentage points. Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales identifies the race as one of 13 toss-ups that could tilt control in the lower chamber, while recent polls show Barrett in the lead.
The most recent Cygnal poll of 405 likely voters conducted Oct. 6-8 shows Barrett with 47% support, compared to 43% for Hertel. Others conducted since February have yielded similar results.