By Jennifer Champagne
Managing Editor
Alger County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Steinhoff announced he will run for judge in Michigan’s 11th Circuit, a four-county trial court covering Alger, Luce, Mackinac and Schoolcraft counties.
He said the decision comes from a need for “constancy, accountability and restored integrity” in the courts following months of upheaval.
Steinhoff, 35, said community leaders had been urging him to consider a campaign for more than a year, and those conversations intensified after recent filings involving 11th Circuit Judge Brian Rahilly.
In July, Steinhoff’s office filed a writ of superintending control seeking to disqualify Rahilly from criminal cases in Alger County, citing alleged impropriety in text messages between Rahilly and another judge.
Steinhoff emphasized he was not the first to act — the Attorney General’s office and Mackinac County had already moved — but said he felt obligated to inform the public.
“If telling the truth means coming out strong,” he said, “I’m going to do it all day.”
Upbringing and education
Steinhoff was born in Manistique — at a time when Munising Memorial Hospital had stopped delivering babies — and raised in Munising. His grandfather, mother, father and aunt all worked at the local paper mill, together logging more than 100 years of service.
He describes his youth as “free-range,” often on his bike with neighborhood friends and, by age 9 or 10, spending summers at Mattson’s fish house. There he helped clean fish, picked livers from gut buckets and learned responsibility in exchange for pocket money — work he jokingly calls his first job.
He recalls those long days of hard, messy tasks alongside swimming in the bay and making his own fun as central to the independence that shaped his upbringing.
Steinhoff is a fifth-generation Munising resident and a direct descendant of Abraham Williams, one of the community’s early settlers. Generations of his family built their lives around the paper mill, where his grandfather worked as a machine tender and his aunt and both of his parents spent decades on the line.
His father, who had earned a sociology degree from Lake Superior State University, moved through different jobs across the mill and stayed for 35 years after returning home to care for his own ailing father. His mother spent three decades in the specialties department, often on rotating “southern swing” shifts.
Steinhoff said the household’s rhythm left little time for handholding, so he and his sister learned early to make their own fun and respect the schedule.
“It was never too cold, never too wet,” he said. “If you wanted to do something, you had to do it yourself.”
From his parents, he said, he absorbed the expectation that hard work, honor and integrity were not optional but part of daily life.
He graduated from Munising High School, then earned his undergraduate degree at his father’s alma mater, LSSU, where he was elected student body president twice, organized student lobbying trips to Lansing and testified before the state Legislature on behalf of his peers. He later graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.
During law school, Steinhoff clerked for Judge William Carmody and observed proceedings with Judge Mark Luoma — who lived kitty-corner from his childhood home — and Judge Charles Nebel. Carmody and Luoma are now retired, while Nebel continues to serve on the bench.
After graduation, Steinhoff worked as a deputy court administrator, then opened his own law firm before being appointed Alger County prosecutor in 2019. He also volunteers with the Munising Fire Department.
Why he’s running
Steinhoff said the circuit’s size and diversity — stretching from Mackinac Island to rural townships — requires a judge who is visible across the district and willing to “meet people where they are.” He plans a listening tour to gather concerns from residents and local officials.
He described his judicial philosophy in three points: listen to litigants, apply the law fairly and consistently, and hold everyone in the courtroom to the same standards. He pointed to methamphetamine and fentanyl as the biggest threats to public safety, arguing the courts need “new and innovative tools” because “you can’t prosecute your way out of this.”
On pretrial incarceration, Steinhoff said he supports fair bond conditions but stressed the importance of enforcing them.
“I don’t think people should be violating the rules of the court without consequence,” he said. “That’s what gives our court its position and the ability to impose judgment.”
Looking ahead
Steinhoff said his campaign will include stops across all four counties. He framed the race as a referendum on courtroom culture and public trust.
“People should walk into that room knowing the process will be fair and prepared for what they’re going to see,” he said.
The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026. The winner will begin a six-year term on the 11th Circuit Court in January 2027.
If elected, Steinhoff said he would prioritize accountability, consistency and community engagement.
“I’m always going to do what is right,” he said, “and I’m going to do it as soon as possible to make sure our citizens are represented and their voices are heard.”