Republican candidate for Michigan’s new 108th District
By Carol Stiffler
Menominee lawyer Casey Hoffman, a Republican, is seeking his first elected position and is determined to become Michigan’s 108th district representative. The district boundaries were redrawn in the wake of the 2020 U.S. Census, and now includes a wide stripe of the U.P. stretching from Menominee east through Curtis, Engadine, Newberry, Brimley, and beyond.
“This is my first run for public office,” Hoffman said. “I am 32, a lawyer with a concealed carry permit. I am a military spouse. I’m 100% pro-life, and I am a fifth generation Yooper.”
Though this is his first attempt at a public office, he plans to remain in politics for the rest of his life.
“I am running for public office because we need to change our tone,” Hoffman said. “I will be one of the most conservative voices in Lansing, but I will also be one of the kindest.”
Hoffman currently works in his family’s law firm, Hoffman Law, which practices all kinds of law – from divorce to estates to wills. He serves as a lawyer, preparing research for his father, who tries cases and represents individuals in court.
Hoffman, a high-energy individual, has kept count of how many cups of coffee he’s consumed at “Coffee with Casey” campaign events – 621, at last count. He’s planning stops across the newly drawn 108th district and will be in Newberry in the near future.
His platform, spelled out on his campaign website, CaseyHoffman.org, supports the constitution and the belief that powers not vested to the federal government should be left to the states. Hoffman believes in paying teachers competitive wages and abolishing the state income tax to stop “brain drain”: when Michigan’s young leave for jobs in other states.
“Overnight, that would make Michiana a magnet for job creators and young people,” Hoffman said. Nine states operate without an income tax – among them Alaska, Nevada, Washington, Texas, and Tennessee. “Michigan should be the 10th state to join that list. We can afford this by taxing Michigan’s 3.2 billion marijuana market.”
Hoffman acknowledges that the marijuana industry is heavily regulated, but thinks the state should be capitalizing on the opportunity to tax it more heavily.
Capitalism, itself, is having a bit of an image crisis, and Hoffman thinks it is simply misunderstood.
“Capitalism is the engine that builds most of what we see around us,” he said. “I think that we need to be highly engaged and highly alert to make sure that governments are only doing business with capitalists who are ethical.”
He’s also a Republican with an eye on the environment. He promotes Line 5 until it can be replaced with clean energy resources.
“If that oil wasn’t being pumped through line 5, it would be in trucks, polluting the air,” he said.
He stands firmly behind the second amendment and would support the voluntary purchase of gun insurance to mitigate damages if a gun owner’s weapon is taken and used for violence. He also believes there should be limited periods of wolf hunting.
As for abortion, Hoffman says he believes life begins at conception. “Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare,” he said. “The best way to reduce the number of abortions is through education and contraception.”
If elected, Hoffman is intent on being kind and inclusive. He once worked in the office of Former U.S. Representative Bart Stupak, a Democrat, who taught Hoffman much about politics.
“He told me to answer phone calls from Republicans and Democrats, because at the end of the day, we’re all Americans.”
State Senator Ed McBroom shows similar character, integrity and good will, Hoffman said.
“My goal in running is to reestablish a kinder politics that people like Bart Stupak and Ed McBroom have made part of the Upper Peninsula’s political ethos,” Hoffman said.
