Hillsdale College alumnus and Howell resident Dominic Restuccia ’16 is running for the open 50th district seat for the Michigan House of Representatives.

Restuccia is a father, real estate agent, and former congressional staffer, and will run for the seat currently held by state Rep. Bob Bezotte, a Republican who is retiring. The 50th district includes the city of Howell and part of Livingston County.

“One thing that is clear to me is that we need a conservative fighter representing Livingston County,” Restuccia said in a statement to his supporters. “With housing prices, interest rates, energy bills, and grocery costs at record highs, I will fight to make Michigan affordable again for all of us.”

Lansing politicians are trying to tax, spend, and mandate their way out of the problem, according to Restuccia. He said he will fight tax increases, cut spending, and take on government bureaucracy.

Restuccia launched his campaign in February and will face Republican candidates Kristina Lyke and Jason Woolford in the primary election on Aug. 4. Democrat Austin Breuer will also run for the seat in the general election on Nov. 5.

Bezotte, the incumbent, announced his plan to retire from public office in a statement in January and later endorsed Woolford.

If elected, Restuccia said he will promote public policy that aligns with the rule of law, limited government, and personal responsibility.

“These really aren’t Republican ideas or Democrat ideas, but they are American ideas,” he said. “These are things that I think people on both sides of the aisle can agree with.”

A father of two, Restuccia works as a real estate agent with Griffith Realty in Livingston County, where he was raised. He said he started his first small business, “Dom’s Cutting Edge Painting,” at the age of 14 to pay his way through college.

After graduating from Hillsdale College with a politics major in 2016, he worked in Washington, D.C., as a legislative assistant for U.S. Sen. Mike Lee and U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop before returning to Livingston to start a family. He married Hillsdale alumna Emma Vinton Restuccia ’16 in 2017 and the couple has two daughters, Leona and Edith.

Bishop endorsed Restuccia on March 12.

“Dominic Restuccia is the public servant Michigan’s 50th House District needs representing them in Lansing,” Bishop said in a press release. “I know for certain that Dominic is a true conservative committed to fighting for the veterans, farmers, and family owned businesses of Livingston County because he has already done it.”

Restuccia said he wants to make the state safer and more economically friendly for families. He said he will prioritize policy reforms that rebuild Michigan’s economy and cut taxes and government spending.

As a real estate agent, Restuccia said he sees the negative effects of bad economic policy and regulations on the housing market. Inflation and government spending have made it difficult for the average person to be able to buy a home while also paying living expenses, he said.

“We have got to be making it so that people can actually afford to buy a house and with grocery bills and energy prices going as high as they are,” he said. “We need public policy that actually helps bring some of those prices down and helps people’s wages rise.”

He said he is disappointed with the failure of state government to address the economic issues driving people out of Michigan.

“The state has become less affordable, not just from a housing standpoint, but in terms of paying for groceries, paying for basic bills,” he said. “And our governor’s only plan seems to be ‘come for the abortion and stay for the pronouns.’ There is no real plan to grow the population and to bring jobs and opportunities back to the state.”

Restuccia said Michigan needs economic reform to attract business and people to the state rather than driving them away, and higher taxes and increased government spending are not the answer.

“I’m sick and tired of our state being left in the dust, while other states are freer and happier and seem to be attracting talent and businesses left, right, and center while we’re straggling along and slowly bleeding out,” Restuccia said.

His other priorities include protecting parental rights in education, bettering civic education, eliminating sanctuary cities in the state, and supporting local law enforcement.

“We have to make this the best place to live, work, and raise a family,” Restuccia said. “And in order to do that, people need to feel safe. They need to feel like they have opportunity. And they need to be able to have not just opportunities for themselves, but then opportunities for their kids, to have good education, and to have a strong community that they feel comfortable raising their family in.”

With experience working for congressmen in Washington, D.C., Restuccia said he knows how to address at the legislative level the problems he and others in his community experience in the private sector.

“Government is its own animal,” he said. “The bottom line of the job is the rules, regulations, and laws that come out of our government and impact people in the community.”

Restuccia said the education he received at Hillsdale College has informed him in his political career because it taught him how to analyze primary sources and shaped his understanding of the nation and of political philosophy.

Professor of Politics Kevin Portteus said Restuccia was an excellent student, always open to new ideas and arguments.

“I think that what stands out to me most about Dominic from my experience with him was, first, his sincere commitment to his faith and his desire to live out that faith, and second, his outgoing, friendly personality,” Portteus said. “He was always positive, always excited about whatever he was doing, and that energy was infectious.”

As a student, Restuccia was a resident assistant in Galloway Residence. House director JoAnn Arendt said she remembers Restuccia as a leader in the dorm.

“He joked but he always got his point across with the students,” Arendt said. “He was a good communicator and sincere. I think those are good qualities for anybody going into politics today.”

While opposing the social agenda and bad economic policy he sees Democrats pushing in Lansing, Restuccia said he hopes to promote a better vision for the future of the country and the state.

“I think it’s incumbent on us to give a vision for what we think Michigan should look like, not just the things that we need to stop, not just stopping illegal immigration from coming to Michigan or stopping the consolidation of power in government,” Restuccia said. “We need to have a positive mission of what we’re going to bring to the table, how we’re going to make Michigan the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”