Michael Baumgartner

Michael Baumgartner
Washington State Senate District 6
Incumbent
In office
2011-Present
Term ends
January 12, 2015
Years in position	2
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$42,106/year
Per diem	$90/day
Elections and appointments
First elected	November 2, 2010
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	N/A
Education
Bachelor's	Washington State University, 1999
Master's	Harvard University
Personal
Place of birth	Pullman, WA
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Michael Baumgartner is a Republican member of the Washington State Senate, District 6. He was first elected in 2010. Baumgartner ran for U.S. Senate in 2012 and lost in the general election.

Biography

Baumgartner holds a BA in economics from Washington State University and an MPA in international development from Harvard University. He was formerly an Economic Affairs Officer with the U.S. State Department in Iraq and is currently a part-time economic adviser to the United States military.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Baumgartner served on the following committees:

Washington Committee Assignments, 2013
• Higher Education
• Human Services & Corrections
• Trade & Economic Development
• Ways & Means, Vice-chair

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Baumgartner served on the following committees:

Washington Committee Assignments, 2011
• Economic Development, Trade & Innovation
• Higher Education & Workforce Development
• Ways and Means

Issues

Campaign themes

2012

Baumgartner's website highlighted the following campaign themes::

• Developing diverse domestic energy sources
• Balancing the budget
• Creating jobs through decreasing hindrances to businesses

Baumgartner said he was a "pragmatic conservative."

2010

Baumgartner's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

• Reduce Wasteful Government Spending

Excerpt: "I believe my background in economics will help, but more important is to have common sense and courage to stand up to the special interests and insist that wasteful spending end."

• Stop Tax and Fee Increases

Excerpt: "We don’t need more taxes; we need to reduce spending."

• Support Good Jobs

Excerpt: "If elected, one of my first actions would be to work across partisan lines, bringing together major employers like Avista with political leaders like the mayor and county commissioners to work together for sustainable job growth."

• Improve Schools

Excerpt: "We must do more to improve public schools and ensure that students receive an education that will prepare them for happy, productive lives in a competitive 21st Century. The Legislature’s recent cuts to public schools and universities are endangering our state’s future."

Elections

2012

See also: United States Senate elections in Washington, 2012

Baumgartner ran for the United States Senate in 2012 as a Republican. He faced incumbent Maria Cantwell (D), Timmy Wilson (D), Chuck Jackson (R), Art Coday (R), Mike the Mover (R), Glen Stockwell (R), and Will Baker (I) in the August 7 primary. The top two vote-getters were Cantwell and Baumgartner, who advanced to the general election ballot. He and Maria Cantwell advanced past the blanket primary to the general election on November 6, 2012. Cantwell defeated Baumgartner in the general election.

Incumbent Maria Cantwell had a $4.5 million advantage over any of her challengers.

Baumgartner considered his an "underdog campaign." He said Cantwell "bought her way into office 12 years ago.... At the end of the day campaigns aren't about dollars, they're about who has better solutions."

U.S. Senate, Washington, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Maria Cantwell Incumbent	60.5%	1,855,493
	Republican	Michael Baumgartner	39.5%	1,213,924
Total Votes				3,069,417
Source: Washington Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2010

Michael Baumgartner defeated incumbent Chris Marr (D) in the November 2, 2010 general election for the Washington State Senate District 6. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 17, 2010.

Washington State Senate, District 6 General Election (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Michael Baumgartner (R)		33,929	53.71%
Chris Marr (D)		29,237	46.29%

Washington State Senate, District 6 Primary (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Michael Baumgartner (R)		21,263	53.30%
Chris Marr (D)		18,630	46.70%

Campaign donors

2012

Breakdown of the source of Baumgartner's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Baumgartner lost an election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Baumgartner's campaign committee raised a total of $1,139,664 and spent $1,019,060.

U.S. Senate, Washington, 2012 - Michael Baumgartner Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$1,139,664
Total Spent	$1,019,060
Total Raised by Election Winner	$11,978,158
Total Spent by Election Winner	$11,198,862
Top contributors to Michael Baumgartner's campaign committee
Trilogy Partnership	$10,000
Hecla Mining	$8,550
Red Lion Hotels	$6,400
Inland Empire Paper	$6,250
Anderson Hay & Grain	$5,000
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Retired	$133,616
Crop Production & Basic Processing	$26,670
Securities & Investment	$23,500
Real Estate	$14,410
Health Professionals	$13,610

2010

In 2010, the year Baumgartner first won election to the Senate, he collected $362,366 in donations.

His four largest contributors in 2010 were:

Donor	Amount
Senate Republican Campaign Committee of Washington	$66,322
Washington State Republican Party	$58,415
6th District Legislative Committee	$33,500
Michael Baumgartner	$4,264

Personal

Baumgartner has a partner, Elenor.

External links

• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Baumgartner's campaign website
• Michael Maungartner on the Washington State Senate website
• Michael Baumgartner on the Senate Republican Caucus website
• Campaign contributions: 2010
• Baumgartner on Facebook

References

Political offices
Preceded by Chris Marr	Washington Senate District 6 2011-present	Succeeded by NA