Two-term Rep. Andrew Beeler not seeking re-election in state House

Two-term state Rep. Andrew Beeler is serving his last year in elected office — for now.

When reached on Friday, the Port Huron Republican said he confirmed the decision not to seek re-election with reporters in Lansing this week, though no announcement was released through his office.

“I’ve served two terms, and I’m going to let somebody else have a shot at it,” Beeler told the Times Herald. “… In general, these jobs are not supposed to be careers for people, and if you believe that, then you believe that people should probably be stepping down before they’re term-limited, and so we should stop letting that surprise us.”

First elected in 2020, Beeler succeeded former state lawmaker and lieutenant governor candidate, Shane Hernandez, in the former 83rd District for the Michigan House. In 2022, he defeated then-fellow incumbent Gary Eisen, who’d served in the former 81st, to continue his tenure in the redrawn 64th District.

Amid his two terms, the legislator has trumpeted a range of causes — from what he believed to be race and gender stereotyping in school curriculum and other local-impact issues to challenging pandemic-era and Democrat policy initiatives.

Before running for state office, Beeler served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Chancellorsville with deployments in the Middle East, South China and East China seas. He is native to St. Clair County, attending school in Marine City before enrolling in the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated in 2014.

Despite stepping away from the state House, Beeler said it wasn’t necessarily the end of his role in politics, admitting he was open to a return in the future.

“Dan Lauwers’ seat will be open in 2026. He’ll be term-limited, and I’d be able to do two full terms in the Senate,” he said, referring to the Thumb’s state senator from Brockway Township. “That’s certainly an interest to me.”

For now, Beeler said he wasn’t sure what his plan or next career steps would be.

“I do think that I’ll be in the private sector, and so, that’s an experience that I’ve not yet had. I went from the Navy to grad school to this, so I do think what’s next for me in the private sector," he said.

The 64th District includes the cities of Port Huron and Marysville and Burtchville, Clyde, Fort Gratiot, Grant, Kimball, Port Huron, and St. Clair townships in St. Clair County, as well as Worth Township in Sanilac County.

Previously, the 83rd District included all of Sanilac County with just the waterfront Burtchville, Fort Gratiot, and city of Port Huron to the south.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Two-term Rep. Andrew Beeler not seeking re-election in state House