Former VP Pence visits Eaton County to stump for Barrett in congressional race

CHARLOTTE — Former Vice President Mike Pence stepped into the supercharged race for a mid-Michigan congressional race Friday, throwing his political weight behind Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett and tossing barbs at another prominent conservative who is backing Barrett's opponent.

Amidst a backdrop of standing corn, hay bales, pumpkins, flowers and a big green tractor at a popular Eaton County cider mill, Pence described Barrett as the "most consistently conservative voice in the Michigan state senate," a "hometown boy" and "someone who stepped forward to put on the (military) uniform."

"I'm here for one reason, and one reason only, and that is that Michigan and America need Tom Barrett in a Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives," Pence said.

Barrett is locked in a tough race with U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, in the newly drawn 7th Congressional District, which spans a section of south-central Michigan and includes the Lansing area. It's among the most closely watched contests in the nation, with some calling it the most expensive congressional race this year.

Pence's visit came three days after U.S. Rep Liz Cheney campaigned for Slotkin in East Lansing, saying Americans need to look beyond partisan politics and find a way to move the nation forward. Slotkin is the type of leader who can work with people on both sides of the aisle and negotiate solutions, Cheney, a Republican, said.

Pence, who was vice president during the four years of the Donald Trump administration, made a prior stop in Portage on Friday to stump for Bill Huizenga, a Republican running in the 4th District.

In Eaton County on Friday, he rejected any characterization of Slotkin as a moderate, saying she's voted with President Joe Biden "100 percent of the time."

Barrett has criticized the Biden administration and Democrats like Slotkin for not doing more to hold the administration accountable for the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and an attack that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. military personnel and about 170 Afghans.

He touched on that topic again on Friday and referred to the Cheneys — including Liz Cheney's father, former Vice President Dick Cheney — as those who "sent people to go fight in wars." He said he never expected Liz Cheney would come to his home state and endorse his opponent.

"I cannot say enough how disappointed I am about what's become of Liz Cheney," he said.

There was no reference to Trump during Friday's campaign event at The Country Mill, aside from Pence's passing mention of the administration's efforts toward rebuilding the military, cutting taxes, rolling back regulation and putting a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pence endured the wrath of Trump and became a pariah in some Republican circles after refusing to go along with Trump's push to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Similarly, Liz Cheney also rankled many in her own party after sharply criticizing Trump and his role in instigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Amid the fallout, Cheney was beaten in the Republican primary for Wyoming's sole U.S. House seat by Harriet Hageman.

Earler this week, Hagemen announced she is backing Barrett in the 7th Congressional race.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Mike Pence visits Eaton County to stump for Tom Barrett