He went to the gymnasium in Breda and he later studied theology at Christelijke Hogeschool Ede and Tilburg University.

[2] Hartong unsuccessfully tried to win a seat in the municipal council with his own Democratisch Platform Nederland party.

[3] He went on to serve as a parliamentary assistant to the Party for Freedom group in the European Parliament.

On 22 June 2010 he replaced Louis Bontes, who was chosen as a Member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands in the 2010 general election.

[3] At the start of his term Hartong said he wished to represent the Christian voters in the European Parliament.