With the midterm elections around the corner, Democrats and Republicans are keeping a close watch on toss-up districts. Michigan’s 7th congressional district may just be the “swingiest district” in the “swingiest state”— both the three-way Democratic primary and the general election in November promise to be a close contest.
Preparing for the primary, Democratic candidate Matt Maasdam sat down with Tim Dickinson to discuss kicking corporate interests out of Congress, maintaining moral courage in politics, and using his military background as preparation for public office.
Matt Maasdam served as a Navy SEAL for over 20 years and deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, and the Pacific. He later served as President Obama’s White House Military Aide, where he was responsible for carrying the nuclear football. He is now running for Congress in Michigan’s 7th district.
The following transcript has been edited for formatting purposes.
Tim Dickinson
Hi, this is Tim Dickinson for The Contrarian. Our guest today is Matt Maasdam, who’s a primary candidate for Congress looking to serve in Michigan’s 7th District. Matt, welcome aboard.
Matt Maasdam
Thank you. I appreciate being here. Thank you.
Tim Dickinson
The first question I always like to ask is, what makes your district great?
Matt Maasdam
Oh, that’s a good one. So much. You know, this is a place where we say we make things and we grow things. Michigan spectacular environment to, you know, to grow things. We have a ton of farming and kind of the birthplace of the middle class in terms of union and labor support. And so both things are really, really important to this district.
Tim Dickinson
And just so people are aware, if Michigan is the mitten, you guys are kind of in the palm there.
Matt Maasdam
Yeah, we are in the middle. And so like smack dab in the middle and the district kind of goes from Lansing a tiny bit west, but mostly east to almost Detroit. And so it goes to kind of like the exurbs of Detroit.
Tim Dickinson
And this is a pivotal swing district in what is perhaps the Ur swing state. And just for people’s knowledge, this is where Elissa Slotkin had served before, now a Republican is in that seat, and so this has gone back and forth a little bit. What makes you the right person to serve in this district?
Matt Maasdam
You know, you said this district is swingy. I’ve heard it described as the swingiest district in the swingiest state this time around. It’s exactly 50-50. I’m somebody who’s entirely focused on service. I just want to see America on the right path. And I think we can be doing better than we’re doing right now. And so I’m excited to help out from a service perspective. I’m somebody that feels like leaders are there to serve their people, not be served by their people. And I’m here to fight for the district and and the state and the, you know, the country.
Tim Dickinson
Now, you have a really interesting bio. You’re a former Navy SEAL. At one point, you were in possession of the nuclear football for President Obama. Do you want to just talk us a bit through how that experience prepares you for this next step in public service that you’re seeking?
Matt Maasdam
Yeah, so I was a SEAL for 20 years. You know, I fought for the Constitution that whole time. I fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. I deployed to Africa and Asia as well. And so when I came back from all those deployments, my wife… before I say that, my wife was a helicopter pilot. She went to the Naval Academy. We met at survival school. And so that’s where you learn to be, like, POWs, and we did that, you know, hand in hand, so it was fun. we were married you know a couple years right after survival school and then 9/11 happened we both went overseas a lot and when we came back from overseas I got picked up to be President Obama’s military aide so that means you carry the nuclear football for him, and you also coordinate the efforts of the White House military office so that’s the people the military members that are stationed at the White House, and it’s everything from Air Force One, to the helicopters, to the drivers communicators, and it’s about 3,000 people. So you’re coordinating their efforts on a daily basis with the Secret Service. and the White House staff to make sure the president can do their job. So you’re a very busy person in that role. And Obama’s the president you want to see in the White House, right? I miss him greatly, particularly today. And so it’s one of those, he was an incredible combination of both like super competitive, like Michael Jordan competitive, and super easy going. And so. He balanced those two things really well to get, you know, get what he wanted done, done. And at the same time, he led with kindness, he’s very smart, he was a great dad and husband, and just a really wonderful person to be around.
Tim Dickinson
And so tell us a bit about what your priorities are for the district. I saw that anti-corruption was a big part of what you were talking about.
Matt Maasdam
Yeah, that’s one of the three. I feel like too many people are going to D.C. right now to enrich themselves, and so getting corruption out of politics, you know, it’s a tall order, but it’s something I want to see happen. And so, from day one, I’ve been a no-corporate PAC, no stock trading in Congress person. I don’t think you’re there to get rich. I think you’re there to serve your constituents, and I think your constituents, the voters in particular, are the ones you’re there to serve, not corporations. I’ve also been endorsed by End Citizens United. Right. I want to see dark money out of politics. I didn’t like the idea of money in politics before I was a candidate, and I like it even less now. You know, there’s too much of it, and I want to see it out as much as humanly possible. So it is an important part of it. I’m fighting for the Constitution. You know, I feel like I’ve fought for it overseas for 20 years, and I’m watching Trump rip it up in front of me every day, and I think a lot of people feel that way, too. And so, whether it’s reckless ICE agents in streets or unnecessary wars, I think there needs to be real accountability when somebody violates the Constitution. And then third, I’m fighting for people’s wallets because things are way too expensive and we’re not doing anything to make that better. It’s getting worse. And so whether it’s groceries or gas or housing or health care, all the prices are going up and I want to do something about it.
Tim Dickinson
You strike me, just in our brief interaction, as a doer, somebody who wants to get things done, and Congress can be a frustrating place for people of your inclination. I wonder, what makes you feel like this is the right place to put forward your talents and your service right now?
Matt Maasdam
I think, you know, it’s a place where, you… you want to have people who are focused on action, and focused on, kind of, country over party, and have the… somebody who has the ability to reach across the aisle. I think that’s why people like veterans who run for Congress, because they feel like they’re mission-oriented individuals who can get things done, and do so by focusing on what’s important to the country, and I fit in that category. I was, you know, not part of my bio usually, but I was at the National Counterterrorist Center for a little bit of time, and I was a piracy expert. So, piracy doesn’t come up a lot for the United States, but when it does, you want people who are good at it to be able to talk to the president and to the leadership about it, and so you have to be ready, and you have to have those experts ready all the time, so when that challenge arises, you can get things done. And I feel like I’ve been used in that capacity by the country for that. Before, you know, we have to prepare to get things done. And in Congress, you have to be ready and have the plans to enact when the time arises that you can actually accomplish the thing that you’re there to do.
Tim Dickinson
So Michigan has a late primary, your primary’s coming up in August. Can you talk a little bit about why you think that you’re the best person for this district, vis-a-vis your opponents?
Matt Maasdam
Yeah, it is a late primary. August 4th is tough, and so it just doesn’t give a lot of time for the general election, but, I’m a great candidate for this. I’ve, you know, first off, I would say, you know, I’m a no stock trading in Congress, no corporate PAC person. And so I want to see that. I challenged the other members of this race to do the same on day one. One person took me up on it, one person didn’t. But I’m united, or I mean, I’ve been endorsed by End Citizens United as well, like I said, and that, that is very helpful in distinguishing myself. I want money out of politics, I want corruption out of politics. I think that’s very important. Second, I’m a big pro-labor person, so I’ve been endorsed by more unions than anybody else in the group. Everybody from the plumbers and pipefitters to the firefighters to the Teamsters. I’m working hard for that group of people. I think they’re doing a great job of looking after the middle class and making sure things like training and safety and wages and retirement and healthcare are all looked after for their members, and when they do well. all of the American workers do well. I want the American working class, and by that I mean anybody who works for a living, to do well, because I think we’re doing I think the country is taking care of billionaires and giving them tax breaks, and I don’t feel like we’re taking care of the middle class and the working class the way we should, and so I feel like we’re stealing the American dream from a lot of those people so that we can get billionaires tax breaks, and that’s not okay with me. And then third.
Tim Dickinson
Oh, I’m sorry, go ahead.
Matt Maasdam
Go ahead. No, please go ahead.
Tim Dickinson
No, I was just gonna pivot to the incumbent in this seat, assuming that you make it through to the next round. What is it that you offer? How would you contrast yourself and your platform to his service?
Matt Maasdam
So Tom Barrett is the incumbent and this is one of those seats where I feel like I’m there to look after all my constituents, and I’ve heard people say that he has told them, “If you didn’t vote for me, you’re not my constituent.”
Tim Dickinson
Wow.
Matt Maasdam
I feel like his only constituent, honestly, is Donald Trump. And he is… you know, he should be… he was a veteran. He ran on a veteran platform. I’m here to take that away as an advantage and actually talk about the issues. He voted for the Big Bill. He voted to take away the ACA subsidies, and so he’s taking healthcare away from tens of thousands of people. He’s taking SNAP benefits from kids. He took over half a billion dollars from Michigan State, which is in the district. I think most of the votes that he takes harms this district, and I don’t think that’s okay. And so I’m excited to kind of do the opposite of what he’s doing, but still do it with a… you know, from the perspective of a veteran. So I would be the first Democrat Navy SEAL in the history of the House of Representatives, so it’s fantastic.
Tim Dickinson
Well, I that’s that really would be something novel. I hadn’t realized that. I wanted to… I noticed in your platform you had sort of an open mind about AI development, which is just sort of an interesting issue right now. It’s kind of a hot point for a lot of people as to whether data centers should be going in. Do you want to explain just a little bit about your point of view on that?
Matt Maasdam
Yeah, and so, those are related, but a little different. You know, AI is a race that I think we need to win against China, and I think we’re in the lead, and we need to stay that way. I share people’s concern and skepticism about data centers. I do think it’s a local issue. I want to make sure, things are transparent, that there aren’t NDAs, we need to know who we’re dealing with. I want to see the environment be adhered to right from, both what’s going to power it. The Michigan legislature has said they want 90% of the power to come from renewable energy by 2030. I think that’s fantastic. But also water usage as it, you know, as it relates to the data centers. And then, I want to make sure the ratepayers aren’t getting stiffed in this whole thing, and it’s causing rates to go up. I actually want to see ratepayers’ rates go down. And so that is something that is really important to me. So those three things are critical, but as… being in the federal space, what I want to do is provide these local municipalities, often whom are really, really, really tiny, make sure they have the resources they need to fight these behemoth companies that are coming in and wanting to put in the data centers.
Tim Dickinson
I wanted to get your perspective on President Trump’s use of force. Your military background, I think, makes you someone unusually qualified, and particularly these questions about piracy, which sometimes comes up in the Strait of Hormuz or around Yemen. I just wanted… the open-ended war that we now find ourselves in, and not able to extricate ourselves from, how do you think about this thorny issue, and what kind of influence would you hope to yield in Congress if you get there?
Matt Maasdam
I mean, I want to stand up for what’s right, and, you know, I don’t want to see war. And, you know, as a SEAL, I got to see the downsides. It’s pain and suffering, and you don’t want to have to go there unless you absolutely need to. And so, I don’t think, as it relates to Iran, I don’t think President Trump presented the United States or Congress evidence that said, this is why we need to be there. Or said, like, this is the mission we want to accomplish, or said, this is the plan to accomplish that mission, or this is how we’re going to leave. None of that was presented up front. We just kind of went, and, it seemed thoughtless and not, aware of the potential fallouts that could exist. And then other uses of force are, you know, ICE. It’s come up a couple times in the last week, where somebody’s died at the hands of ICE. you know, I had particularly visceral responses to the Renee Good and Alex Pretti shootings in particular, to see Americans die at the hand of American forces in American streets was both nauseating and saddening and just enraging. And if a SEAL had committed, or participated in an event like that, that SEAL would be in jail. Right? And so, I want to see that kind of accountability writ large in our government. And if bad things happen, we need to investigate them, and, you know, that needs to have consequences. And so I just don’t see that kind of thing happening under Trump. I want to see when people violate the Constitution, I want to see there be real accountability for that.
Tim Dickinson
It is a troubling time, and including with these, you know, lawless strikes on so-called drug boats and return you know, double shots. I just, I wonder, you seem to have a strong moral drive that’s, that’s centered in both your service and your, in your military service and, and your, your, interest in joining Congress. Can you just talk about your… how you find yourself, how you describe yourself, or how… where your moral center comes from? Where is that?
Matt Maasdam
You know, well, what I would say is one of the things that I find in shortest order, as I run for office is moral courage. And so the idea of standing up for what’s right, regardless of the consequences, and regardless of what’s happening. I… my kids play hockey. And we were in Philadelphia for a hockey tournament a couple months ago, and we took the boys to Independence Hall, because that’s what you do when you’re in Philadelphia, and on the wall in Independence Hall, there are three words: “Independence,” “freedom,” and “virtue.” And I feel like politics today is entirely void of virtue. That like moral excellence, we’re going to do the right thing because it’s the, you know, it’s what we should do. I just don’t see happening that often. A lot of the things that we took kind of on our honor or as norms are being violated. And I think we need to codify a lot of that stuff in law, whether it’s for the executive branch. the judicial branch or the legislative branch, we need to actually say, like, no, these are no longer norms. We’ve proven that we can’t follow those. We’re gonna actually make those laws, and laws that have teeth, so that so that people don’t feel free to violate what is the right thing to do. And we just need to get the country in a place where people care about doing the right thing again.
Tim Dickinson
I’m mindful of our time, but I want to give you a chance to just sort of open this up and share any final thoughts that you want to leave with our listeners and our viewers.
Matt Maasdam
You know, one exciting thing that happened today that’s happening kind of right now is that Elissa Slotkin is endorsing me for Congress, which is spectacularly exciting for me. She knows how to win a tough district. She has really carved a path in this space, for me to walk through. It’s an honor that she trusts me, to get this done, and to flip this seat so that we can turn the house back to blue. And so, I appreciate that for her, and, I’m excited to do the hard work.
Tim Dickinson
Well, we’ve got some breaking news right here on The Contrarian. Well, congratulations for that. Thank you for your time and your thoughtfulness. I wish you well in your endeavors, and maybe we’ll see you back here once you’re officially in Congress.
Matt Maasdam
Thank you, Tim. I appreciate it. Have a great day.
Tim Dickinson
Take care. Thank you. Bye.
