Kerry Bentivolio

	Kerry Bentivolio
	U.S. House, Michigan, District 11
	Incumbent
	In office
	January 3, 2013-Present
	Term ends
	January 3, 2015
Years in position	0
Party	Republican
Predecessor	David Curson (D)
	Compensation
Base salary	$174,000/year
	Elections and appointments
First elected	November 6, 2012
Next election	November 6, 2014
Campaign $	$485,728
Term limits	N/A
	Education
Bachelor's	St. Mary’s College
Master's	Marygrove College
	Military service
Service/branch	Army
Service branch	Michigan Army National Guard
	Personal
Birthday	Oct. 6, 1951
Place of birth	Detroit, Michigan
Net worth	$355,520
Religion	Christian
Websites
	Office website
	Campaign website

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Kerry Bentivolio is a Republican member of the U.S. House representing the 11th Congressional District of Michigan. He was first elected in 2012.

While he defeated Syed Taj (D) in the regular election for a two-year term in Congress, Bentivolio was defeated by David Curson (D) in the special election for the lame-duck session.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Upon graduating from high school, Bentivolio enlisted into the U.S. Army as an Infantry rifleman in Vietnam from 1970 through 1971. After his honorable discharge, he earned his Associate Degree in Liberal Arts from Oakland Community College. Then, he transferred to Michigan State University, where he obtained his B.A. degree and M.A. in Education. He was a design engineer in the automotive industry for more than 20 years. He also served with the military police during Desert Storm. He and his wife, Karen, have lived in Milford, since 1982. ^[3]

Career

The following is a list of Bentivolio's Career highlights.^[4]

Served, United States Army (1970-1971)
Served, Artillery Unit, United States Military Police (2007)
Design Engineer, Automotive Industry
Served, Michigan Army National Guard
Social Studies Teacher

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Bentivolio serves on the following committees:^[5]

Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Small Business Committee
- Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation, and Regulatory Affairs
- Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations
United States House Committee on Small Business
- Subcommittee on Contracting and the Workforce
- Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Investigations

Issues

Campaign themes

2012

Below are several campaign issues which were highlighted on Bentivolio's campaign website.^[6]

Economic Solutions

Excerpt: "Cut the Bureaucracy and Regulations to allow American innovation will get us out of this recession. We all know that a Washington bureaucrat won’t pick the next Henry Ford or Steve Jobs... We need to cut taxes now. Our high taxes make it cheaper to do business in foreign countries at times... Government bureaucrats should not be allowed to gamble our money on their friends’ businesses. That is exactly what the current administration did with Solyndra, and it cost taxpayers more than five hundred million dollars."^[7]

Health Care

Excerpt: "I wholeheartedly oppose Obamacare, and would repeal it."^[8]

Balancing the Budget

Excerpt: "The debt crisis facing the United States is one of the most preventable calamities that our nation has ever faced. To force the career politicians to finally act, I strongly support a Balanced Budget Amendment and will co-sponsor such an amendment."^[9]

Immigration

Excerpt: "Any immigration reform must begin with securing the border and stopping the flow of those who are coming into this country illegally... We should offer no amnesty to illegal immigrants, which amounts to condoning illegality."^[10]

Our Constitutional Republic

Excerpt: "As a Congressman, I will scrutinize legislation that abuses the commerce power or other federal powers. I will seek to return more power to the States and to the people. I will seek to return power to the states, and to the people, where it belongs. And, I will do all possible to persuade the Senate to vet judicial candidates carefully to ensure they understand and appreciate the limits of federal power under the 10th Amendment."^[11]

Elections

2012

Regular election

See also: Michigan's 11th congressional district elections, 2012

Bentivolio won the election.^[12] Bentivolio ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Michigan's 11th District. He defeated write-in candidate Nancy Cassis in the Republican primary. He faced Syed Taj (D), John Tatar (L), Steven Paul Duke (G), and Daniel Johnson (NLP) in the general election on November 6, 2012.^[13]

U.S. House, Michigan, District 11 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Syed Taj	44.4%	158,879
	Republican	Kerry Bentivolio	50.8%	181,788
	Libertarian	John Tatar	2.7%	9,637
	Green	Steven Paul Duke	1.3%	4,569
	NLP	Daniel Johnson	0.9%	3,251
Total Votes				358,124
Source: Michigan Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

According to the Detroit Free Press, Bentivolio began airing television ads in late June to thwart a write-in campaign by former state Sen. Nancy Cassis, who entered the race as a write-in candidate at the behest of Republican leaders in Oakland and Wayne counties. ^[14]

Endorsements

Bentivolio has been endrosed by the organizations and individuals below for the 2012 election.^[15]

Governor Rick Snyder
Lt. Gov Brian Calley
Michigan Republican Chairman Bobby Schostak
Michigan Republican Coalitions Vice-Chair Victor Diaz
Michigan Republican Youth Vice-Chair Sarah Ledford
Ambassador Ron Weiser
Senator Rand Paul
Senator Rick Santorum
Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Peter Hoekstra
Congresswoman Candice Miller
Congressman Justin Amash
Congressman Dan Banishek
Congressman Ron Paul
FreedomWorks PAC
Tea Party Express
Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund
Young Americans for Liberty PAC

Special election

See also: Michigan's 11th congressional district special election, 2012

Bentivolio also ran in the special election to Michigan's 11th District to fill the final weeks of former Representative Thaddeus McCotter's term. He defeated Nancy Cassis, Kenneth Crider, Carolyn Kavanagh, and Steve King in the September 7, 2012, special primary. He lost to David Curson (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.^[16]

According to the website Daily Kos, this race was one of nine top-ballot 2012 races that contained Libertarian candidates who received more total votes than was the difference between the Democratic winner and the GOP runner-up. In this case, John Tatar took in over 4,000 more votes than the number that separated Curson and Bentivolio.^[17]

Michigan's 11th Congressional District Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kerry Bentivolio	41.7%	10,280
Nancy Cassis	35.7%	8,804
Steve King	10.8%	2,654
Kenneth Crider	7%	1,715
Carolyn Kavanagh	4.9%	1,208
Total Votes		24,661

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Bentivolio is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Bentivolio raised a total of $485,728 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 16, 2013.^[18]

Kerry Bentivolio's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	US House (Michigan, District 11)		$485,728
Grand Total Raised			$485,728

2012

Bentivolio won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. During that election cycle, Bentivolio's campaign committee raised a total of $485,729 and spent $482,219.^[19]

U.S. House of Representatives, 2012 - Kerry Bentivolio Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$485,729
Total Spent	$482,219
Total Raised by Election Runner-up	$485,729
Total Spent by Election Runner-up	$482,219
Top contributors to Kerry Bentivolio's campaign committee
Credit Union National Assn	$10,000
Every Republican is Crucial PAC	$10,000
Kerr Russell & Weber Plc	$5,500
Advomas	$5,000
Automotive Free International Trade PAC	$5,000
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Leadership PACs	$78,000
Republican/Conservative	$29,300
Candidate Committees	$23,500
Retired	$15,000
Oil & Gas	$13,500

Endorsements

On June 26, 2012, Roll Call reported that Bentivolio had picked up the endorsement of Republican incumbent from Michigan's 3rd district Justin Amash. “Having spent time with Kerry over the last few weeks and having listened to his vision for our country, I believe that Kerry is someone we can count on to do what’s right, not just what’s easy,” Amash said in a statement released by Bentivolio’s campaign. ^[20]

On July 26, 2012, Roll Call reported that Senator Rand Paul had endorsed Bentivolio. Roll Call also reported that local GOP officials were supporting former state Sen. Nancy Cassis, even though she isn't on the primary ballot, because they view her as the more viable candidate. ^[21]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Bentivolio missed 0 of 89 roll call votes from Jan 2013 to Mar 2013, which is 0.0% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.^[22]

Net Worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Bentivolio's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $117,040 and $594,000. This averages to $355,520, which is lower than the $7,859,232 average net worth for Republican representatives in 2011.^[23]

Personal

Bentivolio is married to his wife, Karen, and has one child.^[24]

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