Christopher Coutu

	Christopher Coutu
	Connecticut House of Representatives, District 47
	Former officeholder
	In office
	2009 - January 5, 2013
Party	Republican
	Compensation
Base salary	$28,000/year
	Elections and appointments
Last election	November 2, 2010
First elected	2008
Term limits	N/A
	Education
Bachelor's	Eastern Connecticut State University
Associate's	Three Rivers Community College
Master's	University of Hartford, 2003
	Military service
Service/branch	Connecticut National Guard
	Personal
Birthday	08/28/1976
Place of birth	Norwich, Connecticut
Websites
	Office website
	Campaign website
	Christopher Coutu campaign logo

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The information about this individual is current as of when his or her last campaign ended. See anything that needs updating? Send a correction to our editors

Christopher Coutu was a Republican member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, representing the 47th District from 2009 to 2013.

Coutu was a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House representing the 2nd Congressional District of Connecticut. Coutu ran in the 2012 election for Connecticut State Senate District 19.

Biography

Coutu was born August 28, 1976 in Norwich, Connecticut. ^[1]

Education:^[1]

Three Rivers Community College, Associate's degree
Eastern Connecticut State University, Bachelor's degree
2003: University of Hartford, Master's degree

Career

Coutu is currently a member of the Connecticut National Guard. He has worked as a Financial Adviser/Tax Professional for Tarklin Financial, Civilian Personnel Management Services for the Department of Defense, and Base Education Manager/Craftsman Education and Training Manager with the Connecticut Air National Guard.

Coutu is a volunteer with Bully Busters of Disabled American Veterans, American Legion Post 104, Veterans of Foreign Wars, founder of AmericanWarrior.org, and a volunteer firefighter with the Taftville Volunteer Fire Department.^[2]

Committee assignments

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Coutu served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Coutu served on these committees:

Issues

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Christopher Coutu endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. ^[3]

State elections panel investigation

The state Elections Enforcement Commission is investigating whether Coutu improperly used money from his aborted congressional campaign for his state senate race and failed to keep proper expense records.^[4] Among the allegations is that the Coutu for Senate campaign wrongfully took a contribution from the congressional campaign by accepting lawn signs valued at more than $2,300 and failed to report certain expenses and reimbursements.^[5]

Elections

2012

See also: Connecticut's 2nd congressional district elections, 2012

Coutu ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Connecticut's 2nd District. Coutu was seeking the nomination on the Republican ticket.^[6] Coutu decided to run for Connecticut State Senate in 2012.

See also: Connecticut State Senate elections, 2012

Coutu ran in the 2012 election for Connecticut State Senate District 19. Coutu ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 14, 2012. He was defeated by Catherine Osten (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.^[7]^[8]^[9]

Connecticut State Senate, District 19, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Catherine A. Osten	51.6%	19,882
	Republican	Christopher Coutu	48.4%	18,679
Total Votes				38,561

2010

See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2010

Coutu ran for re-election to the 47th District seat in 2010. He defeated Catherine A. Osten (D) in the November 2 general election.

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 47 General Election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Christopher Coutu (R)		4,362
Catherine A. Osten (D)		3,025

2008

On November 4, 2008, Coutu won election to the Connecticut House of Representatives from Connecticut's 47th District, defeating Jack Malone (D). Coutu received 5,439 votes in the election while Malone received 4,605 votes.^[10] Coutu raised $30,191 for his campaign; Malone raised $32,733.^[11]

Connecticut House of Representatives, District 47
Candidates		Votes
Christopher Coutu (R)		5,439
Jack Malone (D)		4,605

Campaign donors

2010

In 2010, Coutu raised $30,818 in contributions. ^[12]

His largest contributor was the Public Fund, which donated $25,786 to his campaign.

2008

Listed below is the largest contributor to Christopher Coutu's 2008 campaign.

Donor	Amount
Public Fund	$24,946

Scorecards

Yankee Institute's Voter Guide

See also: Yankee Institute's Voter Guide

The Yankee Institute, a pro-market think tank, releases its Voter Guide after each two-year legislative term. Each member of the Connecticut General Assembly receives a score from 0 to 10 based on how he or she voted in ten key votes. The Institute selects key votes which "reveal the differences between those legislators that would harness the power of individual liberty and the market to improve lives, and those that prefer a centrally-planned approach." A legislator with a 10 voted in agreement with the Yankee Institute on all 10 votes, while a legislator with a 0 voted against the Yankee Institute's views or was absent for all 10 votes.^[13]

2012

Coutu received a score of 9 on the Yankee Institute's Voter Guide for 2011-12, tied for the highest score among the 152 scored members of the Connecticut House of Representatives. This score was 1 higher than his score of 8 for the 2009-10 term.^[13]

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