Entrepreneur. Inventor. Criminal justice reformer. West Michigan native. From pain to purpose — building bridges in the hardest circumstances.
Entrepreneur. Inventor. Criminal justice reformer. West Michigan native.
Brady A. Middleton is a West Michigan native, manufacturing and technology entrepreneur, inventor, and Republican candidate for Michigan State Senate 29th District. A graduate of Grand Valley State University with a B.S. in Political Science with an emphasis on quantitative and statistical analysis. Brady is the co-founder of Metas — a leading American manufacturing and technology company established in 2016, named one of Michigan's Top 50 Businesses to Watch (2019), named The World's Greatest Label Company and featured on Bloomberg.
He holds patents granted in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Indonesia and India among others with additional patents pending in more than 20 countries.
In 2009, Middleton was the victim of a violent assault in Grand Rapids that cost him his college basketball scholarship and left him with a traumatic brain injury. He chose forgiveness over resentment, becoming a mentor to the youngest of his attackers—a 13-year-old boy named Marcellus, who went on to successfully graduate high school. That story of redemption, covered by the Grand Rapids Press, the Daily Mail (UK), the Detroit Free Press, the Associated Press and hundreds of other news outlets around the globe is the foundation of his campaign: bridging the divide, restoring accountability, and fighting for restitution on behalf of Michigan families.
“I was pistol-whipped, robbed, carjacked, kidnapped, forced to my knees, and told I was going to be killed—just two weeks after high school graduation. Instead of staying bitter, I spent five years mentoring my 13-year-old attacker, Marcellus, until he graduated high school. That experience taught me that redemption is possible—but only when justice actually works for victims, families, and taxpayers alike.”
Bold solutions for education failure, skyrocketing costs, job-killing waste, energy blackouts, and broken victim justice.
Brady helped deliver criminal justice reform in Michigan under Governor Snyder and helped the Obama administration with national reforms that President Trump ultimately signed into law in 2017.
“Criminal Justice Reform was only half the job—it’s long past time we prioritize real justice for victims. Every dollar we claw back from white-collar criminals, drug traffickers, cartels, criminal syndicates and gangs, human traffickers, violent offenders, corrupt politicians, fraudulent grant abuse, and wasteful government programs must go first to real victims and the taxpayers who’ve been defrauded for years,” Middleton said. “It’s time to cut the waste, restore accountability, and deliver the government Michigan families deserve. From pain to purpose—I’ve been building bridges in the hardest circumstances my entire life. Now I’m ready to bridge the political divide in Lansing and restore Michigan to greatness.”
A vast majority of crime victims never see a dime of restitution. Most kids headed for a life of crime are victims of crime first, yet they receive no real justice. This broken system feeds the school-to-prison pipeline. As your next state senator, Middleton will deliver restitution to victims, interrupt that pipeline, and redeem our justice system — clawing back every dollar from criminals and putting it first toward real victims and taxpayers.
Michigan ranks 44th nationally in fourth-grade reading proficiency, with only one in four kids hitting the proficient mark and two-thirds of them currently destined for prison or a lifetime on welfare. We pour billions into a bloated education bureaucracy, yet too little reaches the classroom. Middleton will cut the administrative fat, redirect every possible dollar straight to educators, and bring personalized education technology into our schools—building the world-class system our kids deserve and our teachers need more than ever.
Michigan has the seventh-highest unemployment rate in the country and has plummeted from 18th to 40th in per capita income. Since 2019, Michigan has paid nearly $1 billion in major job-creation incentive programs to create just 13,000 new jobs—far short of the roughly 65,000 promised—while awarding another $1.7 billion through the SOAR program for only about 1,850 new jobs - around $1 million dollars per job created. Instead of propping up large global corporations with taxpayer money, Middleton will back Michigan’s true job creators: small businesses and entrepreneurs. He will cut the fraud, waste, and abuse driving up housing and living costs so families can afford to stay and thrive here. This is especially critical in the 29th District, where Kent County faces a severe housing shortage needing an estimated 34,000 new units by 2029, and where Hispanic-, Black-, and Asian-owned small businesses are key drivers of local economic growth for renters and young professionals.
“I’ve built companies in Michigan—now I want to rebuild systems that are failing families. Let’s build together!”
Michigan ranks dead last — 50th out of 50 — in energy reliability, with the longest power outage durations in the nation. We’re also 38th in energy affordability and the highest-cost state in the Midwest. Michigan needs more affordable energy solutions such as modular nuclear and we need to diversify our energy grid so families and businesses stop paying more for less reliable power — putting money back in your pocket.
“From pain to purpose — I’ve been building bridges in the hardest circumstances my entire life. Now I’m ready to bridge the political divide in Lansing and restore Michigan to greatness.”
West Michigan Entrepreneur and Crime Victim turned Criminal Justice Reformer Launches Campaign to Fix Michigan’s Crises: Education Failure, Skyrocketing Costs, Job-Killing Waste, Energy Blackouts, and Broken Victim Justice
Grand Rapids, Mich. — April 21, 2026
Brady A. Middleton officially announced his candidacy for the Michigan State Senate in the 29th District.
A West Michigan native, successful manufacturing and technology entrepreneur, job creator, inventor, and Republican, Middleton says he has experienced first hand what effects broken systems have on criminals, victims and taxpayers.
“Two weeks after I graduated high school, I was pistol-whipped, robbed, carjacked, kidnapped, forced to my knees, and told I was going to be killed,” Middleton said. “I made a conscious choice and spent five years mentoring the youngest of my attackers, a 13-year-old, until he graduated high school.”
Middleton says the experience taught him redemption is possible, but only when justice actually works for victims, families, and taxpayers alike. While some criminal justice reform occurred in Michigan under Governor Snyder, and some national reforms were ultimately signed into law in 2017 under President Trump, one major missing element is restitution — a vast majority of crime victims never see a dime.
“Most kids headed for a life of crime are victims of crime first, yet they receive no real justice,” said Middleton. “This broken system feeds the school-to-prison pipeline. As your next state senator, I will deliver restitution to victims, interrupt that pipeline, restore Michigan and redeem our justice system.”
From Grand Rapids to communities across Kent County, Middleton also says families are also struggling with rising costs and a lack of accountability in Lansing.
Middleton will begin a district-wide listening tour soon. Learn more at www.bradymiddleton.com.
Ready to restore Michigan? Get in touch with the campaign.
For media inquiries or interview requests, contact the campaign directly.