DETROIT — Former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam said Tuesday he's running for Congress as a Democrat, aiming to challenge first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett in mid-Michigan's tossup 7th District.

"As somebody who's motivated by service to my country and to Michigan, I'm excited to run," Maasdam told The Detroit News.

"My priority has always been the mission and, right now, I think Congress needs to be a little more focused on common sense and on getting things done. I'm excited to do that in Congress and be a leader for Michigan right now."

Maasdam, 50, grew up in Nebraska, graduated from the University of Michigan and went on to spend 20 years in the U.S. Navy, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and the Pacific as a SEAL. He later served as President Barack Obama’s military aide at the White House, responsible for carrying the "nuclear football" for the president starting in 2010, then went into business, working as an executive at Under Armor and later founding several e-commerce startups of his own. He moved back to Michigan in 2019, he said.

If elected, it appears he'd be the first Navy SEAL to ever serve as a Democrat in the House. The six other SEALs currently serving are all Republicans, as well as Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy in the Senate.

Maasdam has support from some former staffers of Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Holly, who previously represented the 7th in the House, including Emma Grundhauser, who managed then-Rep. Slotkin's 2022 House campaign and was Slotkin's deputy campaign manager for her Senate race last year.

He has met with national Democratic strategists in Washington, D.C., including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Majority PAC, an independent group aligned with Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York.

National Democrats and Republicans both are targeting the 7th in the 2026 midterm elections, with Democrats aiming to flip control of the seat. A veteran candidate like Maasdam could be an appealing counterweight to Barrett, a veteran who served in Iraq and previously served as a state lawmaker.

Barrett raised over $900,000 during the first quarter. He defeated Democrat Curtis Hertel last fall by 3.7 percentage points when the seat was open because Slotkin ran for the Senate.

Jason Cabel Roe, an adviser to Barrett, said his team is confident Barrett's record will earn him election to a second term.

"Democrats can’t seem to find any qualified candidates who are actually from the 7th Congressional District to challenge Congressman Barrett," Roe said earlier this month after another Democrat, former Ukraine ambassador Bridget Brink, launched a campaign in the 7th.

"In his first six months in office, he’s passed two bills through the House, brought the Veterans Affairs Secretary to the district to meet with local veterans about reforms to the VA, and negotiated the release of the Akeo family from a Mexican prison."

In a statement, NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon called Maasdam "yet another out of touch Democrat to parachute into the messy, expensive race to the left Democrat primary. While Maasdam, Brink, Smeltzer and Salman Rais push their far-left agenda, Congressman Tom Barrett continues to deliver commonsense results and will defeat whichever radical Democrat emerges from the messy Democrat primary."

In addition to Brink, other possible Democratic contenders floated for the 7th include Michigan State University professor Josh Cowen and former House Minority Leader Donna Lasinski and East Lansing dentist Lisa Knowles. Both Lasinski and Maasdam live outside the district.

Maasdam anticipates focusing his campaign on rising household and healthcare costs, citing concerns about how the proposed Medicaid costs would hurt the district and make healthcare more expensive for those with private insurance.

"I've been out with the voters and canvassing people, and the one thing I'm hearing over and over is cost of living ― that the prices at the grocery store are really high, health care costs are really high, and wages aren't keeping up. And as the father of two boys, my wife and I are seeing that every day, too," Maasdam said.

"I'm always a huge proponent of mastering the basics because, without the basics, you can't do things well, and I don't feel like Congress is mastering the basics currently. That's why I want to represent the district ― to tackle the biggest issues Michiganders have on their minds."

Maasdam is originally from just outside Lincoln, Nebraska, where he was a state champion swimmer and went on to play water polo at Michigan before joining the Navy. He later got a master's of public administration from Harvard Kennedy School in 2008.

As part of SEAL Team Three in Iraq, Maasdam was the agent in charge of security for the Iraqi vice president, according to his bio. He became the lead instructor for “Hell Week” at SEAL training, and represented the U.S. Special Operations Command at the National Counterterrorism Center, focused on strategic planning against Al-Qaeda.

After 14 years as a commander in the U.S. Navy, he entered the private sector as an executive at Under Armour in Baltimore, where he headed e-commerce operations and served as chief of staff for a 2,000-person team before launching apparel and outdoor product companies.

He left Under Armour with a few other executives to start their own apparel startup, a denim company called Revtown, and from there was recruited to run an outdoor product company, Pecos, according to his campaign.

"What I was thinking about the whole time was getting back to Michigan. I love being here and so particularly in the summers, oh my gosh," Maasdam said.

He and his wife moved back to the state in 2019 "for the Michigan values more than anything." His wife, Laura, is a veteran naval helicopter pilot whom he met during survival school in the Navy. They are raising two boys.

"It's always been our ultimate goal to get back to a smaller community here in Michigan that has a big sense of family, and that's what this state is known for," he said.

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