Eric Leutheuser, who just announced his candidacy for 58th district Michigan state representative, has always been interested in politics.
His father, Paul Leutheuser founded Leutheuser Buick GMC dealership — which Erice
now owns — and served as mayor of Hillsdale. A product of both Hillsdale public schools and Hillsdale College, he took advantage of his time at the latter to embark on the then-new Washington–Hillsdale Internship Program, spending a semester living in Arlington, Va., and interning for former Rep. David Stockman, an experience he recalls fondly.
“It was a moment in history when the country had a sense of what President Carter called ‘malaise’ while Ronald Reagan was telling us that better days were ahead, to stop selling America short,” Leutheuser said. “The first crack in the ice, if you will, was the ‘Miracle on Ice’ game in 1980, which happened while I was in WHIP.”
That fall, Leutheuser accepted Stockman’s offer to assist on his reelection campaign. The contrast he discovered during this time between Washington, D.C., and the area around Hillsdale helped him realize where he felt more comfortable.
“Hillsdale felt more like the real world, and Washington felt more unreal,” he said. “I was more built for and more likely to be happy in a small town, and so, I decided to follow in my father’s footsteps.”
And so he waited: managing the day-to-day operations of Leutheuser GMC, raising three girls with his wife, Laura — Anna Dunham ’10, Clara ’12, and senior Grace — and involving himself in the community in various ways, such as serving on the boards of the Hillsdale County Community Foundation and Health Center, as well as the City Planning and Economic Development commissions, and trying to stay as informed as he could. But then the opportunity arose to fill the seat of Ken Kurtz, the current 58th district state representative who is term-limited out. It fit just right.
“I didn’t run for anything before because I felt like a family and making a living were full-time jobs. I didn’t have any notion of holding office while we were raising a family, and I was busy with the dealership,” he said. “I’m still young enough to have energy, but old enough that my kids have graduated. And Kurtz got term-limited out, and I got the support of my wife, which is crucial; she supports me as she always does.”
Family and friends agreed that timing was important.
“He had to raise three girls, but now his youngest is graduating this year. So he’s
moving past that phase when you’re chasing them all over the place,” said Ron Budd, who has known Leutheuser since they were Cub Scouts together. “He certainly didn’t want to take on something if he wasn’t going to do it 100 percent.
“It all just fell together.”
While Laura had expected her husband to seek office at some point, his recent decision
still surprised her somewhat.
“It was a bit of a surprise. Early in our marriage, many people expected it was path he
would choose. But then there were years of dormancy,” she said. “It was a surprise that fit perfectly with the changes: we’re empty nesters, the dealership is secure.”
Now that his campaign has begun, Leutheuser has started selling himself to voters on
his biography of customer service experience, “common-sense solutions,” and community engagement. It’s a message he thinks can win.
“I have a breadth of work experience, community service, and education that would allow me to move into the workflow in Lansing, be in committees, and be very effective right out of the gate putting forward the interests of the district and working with other representatives to get things done,” he said.
Budd thinks that Leutheuser’s name recognition and campaigning skills should put him ahead of the crowded primary field and hopes that both he and his wife are ready for the demands of the trail.
“They say that sometimes the campaign is harder on the wife than the candidate,” he said.
But even though Laura said politics is “outside of her comfort zone,” she’s ready to work for her husband.
“I have a desire to see a good man — my husband — serve. He’s the kind of man we want to see representing others like him,” she said. “He’s a fine man, the kind of man we need, not a man who’s dreamt of a political position his whole life.”
