Leonard planned to embody "principled, conservative leadership in the State House" and on bringing his experience as a former prosecutor to stand up for the citizens of Michigan.
Leonard received some prominent endorsements in the primary, including Senator Alan Cropsey, Clinton County Sheriff Wayne Kangas, and the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce.
[9] Leonard is a Concealed Pistol License (CPL) holder and a Lifetime member of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA).
[11] Leonard and his wife Jenell, who serves as the Director of the Michigan Film and Digital Media Office,[12] live in DeWitt Charter Township with their daughter, Hannah.
Immediately after securing support among his Republican colleagues to be the next Speaker of the House, Leonard laid out three top priorities for his final term in the Legislature.
[15] Upset with Michigan State University's handling of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, Leonard became the first public official to call for the resignation of then-MSU President Lou Anna K.
[17] However, after another month and a half of embarrassing information becoming public, the full state House voted 96–11 in favor of a resolution demanding the president's resignation.
Inaction on forcing changes from President Simon and controversial and dismissive statements toward the victims of abuse from members of the Board drove the decision.
[20] Citing frustration from the victims at the lack of disclosure from Michigan State University and a need to find points of failure to inform the policy-making process, Leonard directed two of his committee chairs to launch a legislative inquiry into the situation.
Specifically, he led an effort to reform a state program, known as Kevin's Law, which allowed concerned family members to get critical help for those suffering from mental illness before a crime was committed.
[25] Leonard began his legal career as a clerk for Genesee County's chief probate judge, Jennie Barkey.
[29] The successful court has been copied into other counties, and it recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, with Leonard helping to mark the occasion.
[27] After being elected Speaker, Leonard highlighted mental illness as a top priority for the House during his term, specifically promoting early intervention efforts like he those he saw first-hand in Genesee County.
[31] The task force completed its tour in late 2017 presented its findings in a public report and began drafting legislation in January 2018.
[34] Leonard pushed to reduce the tax back to 3.9%, but ultimately fell three votes short in a late-night session at the state Capitol.
[44] In 2018, Leonard proposed repealing Michigan's driver responsibility fees, which were additional surcharges assessed on top of tickets from driving infractions instituted during the state's mid-2000s budget crisis.
By 2017, more than 350,000 residents had lost their licenses due to nonpayment and the additional fines, and 300,000 owed back payments to the state for previous fees.
Rick Snyder had signed a bill phasing out the program after 5 years in 2014, but Leonard wanted an immediate end to the fees and a complete forgiveness of past fines.
Because of this plan, on October 1, 2018, the 350,000 Michigan drivers who lost their licenses because of the program will be able to reapply and regain their ability to drive legally.
[58] Before beginning his term as Speaker of the House, Leonard named reforming Michigan's teacher pension system as one of his top priorities for the coming year.
[62] As speaker, Leonard named local schools, road repairs, mental health programming, and strengthening public safety as his top budget priorities.
[73] Leonard supports a "forensic audit" of the results of the 2020 United States presidential election in Michigan based on unproven claims of widespread voter fraud.
[75] Leonard named fighting violent crime, prosecuting sexual predators and putting a stop to the opioid epidemic as his top priorities.
On August 14, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Tom Leonard to be the United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan.