He is a Democrat and a former member of the Michigan State House of Representatives.
He is the first Korean American to hold state office in Michigan.
[1] Hopgood was born in Incheon, South Korea, in 1974, and was adopted in 1976 by Diane Hopgood, former principal at Johnson Elementary in Taylor, Michigan, and the late Rollie Hopgood, who was president of the Michigan Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel.
He is on the Steering Committee for the Michigan Coalition on Civic Education, and was part of the Michigan delegation to the Congressional Conference on Civic Education in Washington, D.C.
In his final term, Hopgood served on six committees in the House of Representatives: Transportation - Chair, Education, Subcommittee on High School Graduation - Chair, Energy and Technology, Labor, and Senior Health and Retirement.