Tamara Barnes
Tamara Barnes (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 58. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Elections
2020
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 58
Andrew Fink defeated Tamara Barnes in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 58 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Andrew Fink (R)  | 71.2 | 30,208 |
 | Tamara Barnes (D) | 28.8 | 12,208 | |
| Total votes: 42,416 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 58
Tamara Barnes defeated Steven Sowards in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 58 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tamara Barnes | 85.1 | 2,626 |
| Steven Sowards | 14.9 | 461 | ||
| Total votes: 3,087 | |||
| = 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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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 58
Andrew Fink defeated Andy Welden, Daren Wiseley, and Adam Stockford in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 58 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Andrew Fink | 38.6 | 6,520 |
 | Andy Welden | 25.5 | 4,310 | |
 | Daren Wiseley | 18.5 | 3,126 | |
| Adam Stockford | 17.3 | 2,925 | ||
| Total votes: 16,881 | |||
| = 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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Campaign finance
2018
General election
Incumbent Eric Leutheuser defeated Tamara Barnes in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 58 on November 6, 2018.
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 58
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Eric Leutheuser (R) | 71.1 | 22,070 |
| Tamara Barnes (D) | 28.9 | 8,973 | |
| Total votes: 31,043 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Tamara Barnes advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 58 on August 7, 2018.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 58
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tamara Barnes | 100.0 | 3,920 |
| Total votes: 3,920 | |||
| = 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
Incumbent Eric Leutheuser advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 58 on August 7, 2018.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 58
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eric Leutheuser | 100.0 | 9,737 |
| Total votes: 9,737 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Tamara Barnes did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Tamara Barnes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Barnes' responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Investing in Public Education for Children and Adults:Providing adequate pay and professional development for teachers and staff and fully staffing our schools ; Fully funding special education and special programming aimed at closing Michigan's horrendous achievement gap; Expanding debt-free access to quality community colleges, vocational schools, trade schools, and apprenticeships. Ensuring all of Michigan's people have access to affordable, quality healthcare:Expanding Medicaid;Reforming HMO practices; Improving mental health and addiction treatment services; Improving all health services to returning veterans. Protecting Our Land, Water, Air and Open Space: Supporting efforts to maintain state and federal lands Enacting and enforcing policies that prevent contamination and diversion of the Great Lakes; Investing in our underground infrastructure to remove all lead service lines in Michigan and replace dangerously aging water mains; Implementing smart growth strategies and better land use that protect our farms and open space, and support reinvestment into cities.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
Racial equity and public education.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
Murphy Darden, proponent of civil rights and educator in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
BLACK BOY A Record Of Childhood And Youth by Richard Wright
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Selfless, honest, intelligent
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
I am extremely hard-working, a critical thinker, and have worked with people from all backgrounds to improve the health of communities across Michigan.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
Represent the best interest of the people within your district by supporting legislation that improves their lives and future generations.
What legacy would you like to leave?
Helping make Branch and Hillsdale counties a place that supports a strong middle class.
What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?
Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles in 1981. I was age 6 and watched it on TV with my mom.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
My first job was working on my family's farm. I started at age 6 or so and worked in our produce market age 8-20.
What is your favorite holiday? Why?
Thanksgiving
What is your favorite book? Why?
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?
Daenerys Targaryen
What is your favorite thing in your home or apartment? Why?
Non-living thing would be old family photos.
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
Balancing work with my personal life.
Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?
It can certainly be beneficial but it can also be problematic if they have made a career out of politics and are out of touch with the struggles of their constituents.
What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?
I believe Michigan needs to address its educational achievement gap in order to stay competitive in terms of its workforce. Attracting and retaining excellent teachers to the education field will continue to be a challenge unless we support our schools. Other challenges include access to healthcare, management of our natural resources, and addressing aging infrastructure.
Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.
Yes, relationship building among legislators is the only way to move our state forward.
What process do you favor for redistricting?
The process which is outlined in the Voters not Politicians proposal.
If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?
Education Reform Families, Children, Seniors Health Policy
Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?
Kristy Pagan
Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?
Countless stories from people unable to afford adequate healthcare. Nearly everyone makes a decision between pursuing treatments and paying for some other essential need.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
