About Me
A Leader for Lansing
Crisis-Tested. Community-Focused. Barb Delivers.
I grew up in a working class family that will seem familiar to so many Michiganders. My father worked in agribusiness, my mom worked for Lifesavers, and I spent a lot of time in my grandmother’s rental home before moving to our family farm.
It was all the time I spent with my grandmother and mother, two of the strongest women I’ve ever met, that shaped me into who I am today. Even at a young age, I felt a strong sense of justice. In elementary school, I wrote a letter to the school principal about unequal treatment at school; the boys were picked to raise the flag in the morning, but never girls. They quickly offered me the chance to raise the flag and allowed girls to do so moving forward.
While I learned strength from the women in my life, I learned the importance of customer service and collaboration as a business owner. I’m grateful to have been raised in a hardware store and have the experience of owning my own. It instilled in me a comfort in talking with people from all walks of life and all backgrounds.
I eventually followed in my mother’s footsteps, running for her seat in the State House, becoming Caucus Vice Chair and Chair of the Agricultural Committee. While I was only 28 when I was first elected, I didn’t let that stop me from making big changes. I championed small businesses, defended women’s right to reproductive freedom, and held insurance companies accountable for ripping off the people of Michigan.
While in the State House, I served as Vice Chair on the Redistricting and Elections committee, where I fought for fair district lines. I later became a Certified Elections/Registration Administrator through Election Center, the only national program of continuing professional education that specializes in elections administration and voter registration.
Then, I decided to take my customer service work and expertise in elections directly to the people. As Ingham County Clerk, I streamlined requests for documents, modernized the office, and saved taxpayer money. When the 2016 election results were contested, I immediately sprang into action, hired 75 election workers, and made Ingham County the first in the state to complete a recount. I wanted our process to not only be transparent, but fast and effective, to ensure the people could trust the validity of our elections.
Now, I want to go toe-to-toe against election deniers who want to sew chaos across the state and continue my track record of making government more accessible, transparent, and service-oriented as Secretary of State. With attacks against the constitution and our core rights challenged, I believe now is the time for me to step up and continue to protect our rights, defend our democracy, and continue to provide excellent service to the people of Michigan.
