Philip “Phil” Tanis is a former mayor of Holland, Michigan, an international church communications executive, and the director of the A.C. Van Raalte Institute at Hope College. He also ran as a primary challenger to incumbent U.S. Representative Bill Huizenga in Michigan’s 4th Congressional District.

Early Political Career in Holland

• City Council & Mayor (1983–1989): Raised in Holland, Tanis was elected to represent the Second Ward on the Holland City Council in 1983 while still an undergraduate student at Hope College, where he spearheaded the renovation of historic Centennial Park. Immediately upon graduating in 1987, he was elected Holland’s youngest-ever mayor.
• Downtown Revitalization: During his tenure as mayor (1987–1989), Tanis oversaw the major renovation of downtown Holland, most notably the installation of its signature underground snowmelt system.

International & Church Leadership

• Democracy Building in Eastern Europe: After earning a master’s degree in mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1992–1993), Tanis worked in Sofia, Bulgaria (1995–1996) as a resident program officer for the International Republican Institute, assisting post-Soviet municipalities in building democratic institutions.
• Reformed Church Executives (1998–2024): He spent 16 years managing communications, electronic media, and General Synod logistics for the Reformed Church in America (RCA), working out of Grand Rapids while living in Holland. From 2014 to 2024, he lived in Hanover, Germany, serving as the Executive Secretary for Communications and Operations for the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).

Academia, Publishing & Community Roles

• Hope College: In July 2025, Tanis became the director of the A.C. Van Raalte Institute at Hope College (succeeding Donald Luidens), which focuses on Dutch-American heritage and the history of the region. He also serves as editor-in-chief of the Van Raalte Press.
• Writing & Board Service: He is the managing editor and a regular contributor for the Reformed Journal, sits on the board of Holland’s historic Park Theatre, and serves as board treasurer for the Al Amana Centre (an RCA interfaith reconciliation mission in Oman). His wife is a senior pastor at Hope Church in Holland.

2026 Congressional Campaign (MI-04)

• In 2026, Tanis returned to electoral politics to challenge incumbent Republican Representative Bill Huizenga in the August Republican primary for Michigan’s 4th Congressional District (which spans much of Southwest Michigan, including Holland and Kalamazoo).
• Running as a traditional, institutional Republican, his platform emphasized constituent town halls, checking executive branch overreach (“the Imperial Presidency”), reigning in the federal deficit, and opposing punitive consumer tariffs. Huizenga defeated Tanis in the August 4, 2026 primary (roughly 85% to 15%) to advance to the general election against Democratic nominee Sean McCann.

Mr. Tanis cited this news article to clarify why he is taking this step: https://www.ottawanewsnetwork.org/opinion-former-gop-lawmakers-back-dem-mccann-in-4th-district/