By: Sarah Wright | Troy Times | Published June 16, 2026
TROY — Ethan Baker, the mayor of Troy, has announced his bid to represent Michigan’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The role is currently served by Haley Stevens, a Democrat, who is now running for the U.S. Senate. Baker, a Republican, faces no challengers in the primary Aug. 4, but the Democratic field features four contenders: Aisha Farooqi, Jeremy Moss, John Paul Torres and Don Ufford. Whichever Democrat wins the primary will face Baker in November.
First elected to the Troy City Council in 2015, Baker was elected mayor in 2019. He is a practicing attorney and chairs the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. He holds degrees from the University of Southern California, Whittier College School of Law (magna cum laude) and the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He has also completed executive leadership training at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Baker said his campaign is centered on bringing people together during polarizing times. He said he often hears from residents who want less division and more understanding, and a greater focus on the everyday concerns that shape people’s lives.
“As mayor, I’ve spent so much time bringing people to the table and listening, and trying to understand where everyone is coming from, and working with people who have different opinions than I do, or a different view of an issue,” Baker said. “But I’ve always done it in a way that has been positive and from the standpoint that ultimately, at the end of the day, we will get a better result and a better product with the challenges we’re facing if we have people willing to work together to try to figure them out.
“Essentially, I feel that there’s a need for that in Washington,” he continued. “And I think that I could do a really good job focusing on our 11th Congressional District by working with people not just in one party or the other, but with everybody.”
Baker said his campaign will focus on strengthening communities by supporting working families and small businesses, improving economic opportunity, protecting Michigan jobs, investing in infrastructure, safeguarding the Great Lakes and strengthening trust in public service.
“I think we’re seeing so much economic uncertainty right now,” Baker said. “You know it’s important here in the 11th Congressional District that we are creating … a business environment where jobs are plentiful, where we’re dealing with affordability issues across all levels and getting inflation back in check. Certainly, I think that based on my experience as mayor in a city government, I know the value of investing in infrastructure at the local level.”
Baker’s opponents were contacted for comment, but only Ufford responded. Ufford has worked with Ford Motor Company, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the White House’s Made in America Office under then-President Joe Biden.
“I’m running to build good jobs in Michigan, protect our health care, lower costs, protect our democracy, and fight back against Washington corruption,” Ufford said via email.
“Immediately upon entering office, I will fight to ban congressional and presidential stock trades and end the corrupting influence of dark money in our politics,” Ufford said. “We cannot have a healthy democracy when politicians get rich in office, or when corporations can spend unlimited sums to buy the politician of their choice.”
He said he’ll help “end this war in Iran — I’ve been against Trump’s war of choice in Iran from the start, because it’s flat-out wrong. American servicemembers are being killed and injured, and American taxpayers are picking up the cost as groceries, gas and other essentials skyrocket.”
Ufford also vowed to “protect our health care,” adding that “when my wife Rebecca had a heart transplant, the Affordable Care Act saved her life. I will immediately restore the cuts that were made to the ACA, and I’ll fight for a public option and Medicare for All.”
He also promised to “bring good jobs to Michigan in our manufacturing economy,” noting he will “fight to raise the minimum wage and make it easier for workers to collectively bargain.”
As for Baker, he intends to complete his term as mayor in November 2027, but if he is elected to Congress, he would leave about 11 months early. Either way, he said he plans to continue being involved in the Troy community.