Cousins Brandon Strong, Rep. Wortz Could Make The House A Family Affair

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/24/2026) Brandon Strong keeps his office desk neat and organized, but only because the different parts of his life each have their own pile.

There's a campaign pile, a school pile and a general work pile, all spread around a computer hooked up to four screens so the Hastings Republican can keep track of everything at once.

That approach carries over to his home, where Strong and his wife, Samantha, are raising five children.

"We are pretty regimented, and my kids know when they can relax, and they know when they need to get busy," Strong said.

Strong, the Republican nominee in the 78th House District, grew up in a similarly close-knit family in rural Hillsdale County. Seventeen cousins lived within a few miles of one another, and trips to their grandparents' house could happen just about any time of day.

One of those cousins is Rep. Jennifer Wortz (R-Quincy), who Strong said was a close part of his life growing up. Their extended family was so close that Strong said he called Wortz' grandparents on the other side of the family "Grandpa and Grandma," too, even though they were related only through marriage.

If Strong wins in November and Wortz wins reelection, the two first cousins could serve together in the House. For Strong, that possibility is less a political novelty than a reflection of the family's close ties and shared expectations.

Work was expected early in Strong's family, although he considers that typical of his rural upbringing.

That meant getting his first job around age 10, when his grandparents paid him somewhere between 10 and 15 cents an hour to pick up sticks, scrape fences, paint and clean out his grandfather's garage.

His parents also demonstrated that work ethic. Strong said his father worked two jobs for much of his life and his mother sometimes worked as many as four to help pay for his and his brother's private school education.

"That was something that we weren't given an opportunity to make many excuses," Strong said of his family.

Strong eventually left Michigan, earning his bachelor’s degree in education from Trinity Bible College in North Dakota before teaching special education in Gillette, Wyoming, and later becoming a high school principal in North Dakota. He eventually returned to Michigan and now serves as executive director of Barry County Christian Schools.

When there actually is free time, Strong's preferred Saturday depends on the season. In the fall, he and his wife cheer their kids on at soccer tournaments and often end the night with a bonfire. Winter Saturdays are more likely to involve projects, a good meal and board or card games. The current family favorite: Exploding Kittens.

"My kids are all a bunch of cheaters, and I'll say they get it from my wife, but you know, secretly off the record, that's not true," Strong said jokingly.

He said his wife and five children were also a major part of his campaign and why he won the primary, describing it as "our dream."

He imagines his grandparents would be proud if he and Wortz ended up serving together, although not necessarily impressed by the titles compared to their other cousins who are priests.

Strong said his grandfather, who worked 12-hour factory shifts and came home to milk cows, would probably call them about every bill and "pick whatever side that's opposite to us" just to make them explain why they believed what they did.

For Strong, that connection between family and public service is part of what pushed him toward politics in the first place.

"I was told years ago by someone important in my life, that you can't have influence on your township until you have influence in your family, right?" he said. "So you have to run your family, then you can have influence in your township, and then once you've done that, then you can have influence in your county, and then you can have influence in your state. And so I've always kind of stuck to that principle."