Emily Bauman

Emily Bauman (Republican Party) ran for election to the Michigan State Senate to represent District 5. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Bauman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Emily Bauman was born in Rochester, New York. She attended Cazenovia College and Lansing Community College. Bauman's career experience includes working as a personal development, life, and business coach; and in the retail, dental, medical, landscape, and telecommunications industries. She has been affiliated with the Westland Chamber of Commerce, Livonia Chamber of Commerce, Livonia Symphony Orchestra, and Toastmasters International.^[1]

Elections

2022

General election

General election for Michigan State Senate District 5

Incumbent Dayna Polehanki defeated Emily Bauman in the general election for Michigan State Senate District 5 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Dayna Polehanki (D)	61.1	64,455
	Emily Bauman (R)	38.9	41,091

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 105,546
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 5

Incumbent Dayna Polehanki defeated Velma Overman in the Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 5 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dayna Polehanki	74.0	19,822
	Submit photo	Velma Overman	26.0	6,954

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,776
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 5

Emily Bauman defeated Leonard Scott Jr. and Jody Rice-White in the Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 5 on August 2, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Emily Bauman	42.0	6,909
	Leonard Scott Jr.	33.1	5,442
	Jody Rice-White	24.9	4,106

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,457
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

To view Bauman's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

2020

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 16

Incumbent Kevin Coleman defeated Emily Bauman in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 16 on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kevin Coleman (D)	62.5	28,225
	Emily Bauman (R)	37.5	16,937

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 45,162
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 16

Incumbent Kevin Coleman advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 16 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Coleman	100.0	12,455

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,455
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 16

Emily Bauman defeated Josephine Brown in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 16 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Emily Bauman	75.2	3,512
	Submit photo	Josephine Brown	24.8	1,156

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,668
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

To view Bauman's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

Emily Bauman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bauman's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Emily Bauman is a wife, mother and businesswoman who has called Michigan her home for 20 years.

Emily has owned and operated several small businesses as well as worked in large corporations and small-medium sized businesses across many industries. She currently owns and operates a leadership & personal development organization.

"I believe everyone has the ability to achieve great things and it is our job to provide the tools. As State Senator I have the responsibility to the community to build trust between citizens and elected officials. My work and life experiences have allowed me to see and understand many perspectives and the value each person brings to the solution. I support our U.S. and Michigan constitutions and will defend them to preserve the freedoms our veterans and founding fathers sacrificed for.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Trustworthy, balancing grace with action
Experienced & fiscally conservative
Effective & fearless in order to be sure all sides are heard

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Families & parental rights--preserving the laws already in the Michigan Constitution about parental rights and education and raising the bar and incresaing opportunities for students to have access to quality academic education

Prosperity, including jobs, businesses and communities

Freedom, constitutional rights, health freedom and limiting government interference of life, liberty & pursuit of happiness

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My father was one of my first role models. Though it took me years to appreciate, he was up at the crack of dawn every day. He worked without someone telling him he had to and many times without help. He had a just do it anyway motivation.

I have always admired hard-working people who persevere through major crises and tribulations. They step up and do what needs to be done for their families, their community, their world, without complaint. I want to follow in the example of people who serve and give to others so humbly, freely, generously & graciously you wouldn't know they have a world of troubles surrounding them. I try to follow that-everyone has troubles and something they are going through-mine are no more important than anyone else's and my job is to listen and care for other person and be a helper.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

An understanding of the US Constitution and Michigan Constitution as well as representative government. It is very important that elected officials understand that the state and government are on the shoulders of 'we the people' and that, 'All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their equal benefit, security and protection,' (Article 1 of the Constitution of Michigan of 1963). After that, elected officials need characteristics of being and acting in trustworthy ways and the ability to learn about their district/people they serve with understanding and discernment.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibilities are to preserve and uphold the US and Michigan Constitutions and ensure that bills and resolutions do not infringe on the rights of the people. Having the ability to ask questions and see the effects of a bill from all sides is necessary.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

One of the earliest events I remember is the shootings at Kent State University in Ohio. I was only 4 at the time of the shooting but this event had a profound impact on me and there was a lot of discussion about these shootings and the protest for many months and years following, in my household and various settings.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job (after babysitting) was a right of passage in my home town--raspberry picking. We had a local farmer who supplied many of the area farm markets with wonderful, fresh raspberries and employed many of the local teens every summer. Finding the berries, and especially the best berries on the bush was rewarding and hard work. The perks of eating a few fresh black and red raspberries was wonderful too. I only worked there one summer.

From that point on, I just knew I needed to work and the next few years consisted of nannying, retail, and waitressing, until my first professional job in telecommunications.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson and Dream on by Aerosmith

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

It is very important to have healthy, working, respectful relationshihps with other legislators as relationships are the first level of negotiation. It is very difficult to accomplish resuts if people cannot work together. In politics and life, at any given time, we will be on different sides of an argument. It is vital to maintain relationships so as to achieve positive results.

Additionally, one of my favorite quotes is by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to William Hamilton: "I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend. During the whole of the last war, which was trying enough, I never deserted a friend because he had taken an opposite side; and those of my own state."

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Yes, I have thought about the committess I would want to be a part of: Education and Career Readiness, Judiciary and Public Safety, Oversight and Local Government.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I believe that negotiation is necessary, however, compromise for the sake of compromise can be problematic. I find many times multiple sides want the same solution and just need to negotiate the bests path to it.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2020

Emily Bauman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bauman's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Emily Bauman is a wife, mother and businesswoman who has called Michigan her home for 18 years.

Emily has owned and operated several small businesses as well as worked in large corporations and small-medium sized businesses across many industries. She currently owns and operates a personal development & life coaching organization.

"I believe everyone has the ability to achieve great things and it is our job to provide the tools. As a State Representative I have the responsibility to the community to build trust between citizens and elected officials. My work and life experiences have allowed me to see and understand many perspectives and the value each person brings to the solution. I support our U.S. and Michigan constitutions and will fight to preserve the freedoms they and our veterans and founding fathers sacrificed for.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Trusted, pragmatic woman of grace and action
Experienced & fiscally conservative
Effective--Emily listens to & represents Wayne & Westland-Trust is Job 1

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Helping businesses thrive and getting and keeping people working

Building a bridge between public servants and citizens

Raising the bar and increasing opportunities for students of any age to have access to quality education, especially in areas of math, science, reading, art, music and skilled trades

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My father was one of my first role models. Though it took me years to appreciate, he was up at the crack of dawn every day. He worked without someone telling him he had to and many times without help. He had a just do it anyway motivation.

I have always admired hard-working people who persevere through major crises and tribulations. They step up and do what needs to be done for their families, their community, their world, without complaint. I want to follow in the example of people who serve and give to others so humbly, freely & graciously you wouldn't know they have a world of troubles surrounding them. I try to follow that-everyone has troubles and something they are going through-mine are no more important than anyone else's and my job is to listen and care for other person and be a helper.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

My business leadership, strategic planning, critical thinking and need for action and results; along with my ability to listen and ask questions to understand, with care will help me so that I serve the people well.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That my family and neighbors know that a small change can create a huge impact and that if at any time it feels you/we are going in the wrong direction, it is still possible to turn the sails.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

One of the earliest events I remember is the shootings at Kent State University in Ohio. I was only 4 at the time of the shooting but this event had a profound impact on me and there was a lot of discussion about these shootings and the protest for many months and years following, in my household and various settings.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was as a raspberry picker on a farm for one summer. Berry picking was a 'rite of passage' in my small town and through that job, I learned value and responsibility of working hard, swiftly and accurately, being sure all of the raspberries were picked. I learned to be frugal with my money-my parents gave only a small allowance and my summer earnings needed to carry me through the winter for any extras. This was a dirty, hot, yet fun job.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Anatomy of Peace. It is a book that really opened my eyes to boxes and categories we put ourselves in and how that affects how we see others.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Speechless from the movie Aladdin and Never Enough from The Greatest Showman

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Financial changes--being a business owner for so many years, income has varied greatly--sometimes it is feast or famine. It is not easy to shift expenses to match a lower income or to not over spend the surplus.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

A bicameral legislature has different powers in order to ensure fairness through checks and balances within the system.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe government and politics is best served by individuals who have experienced life and it's many facets and situations, whether from government or the private sector.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Rebuilding the economy, fixing/improving our schools & education, being better prepared for crisis and repairing trust between citizens and elected officials.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

I believe and support the Michigan constitution, Article 3, which spells out the three equal powers of government.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes, I believe the way to get things done is through collaboration, which comes from mutual respect, by working to build a relationship.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I am interested in Appropriations; Families, Children & Seniors; Local Government & Municipal Finance; Health Policy, Oversight

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the legislature, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

Yes, I would be interested in a leadership role or chair on a committee

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

At this time, I am only looking at the State House seat

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I recently spoke with a resident of Westland who has lived here for his entire life. He went to Westland schools, got his first job, worked at Ford, bought his house and raised his family in Westland. He taught his children to be responsible with their money even when they may only be earning minimum wage. Now, he is greatly concerned with how all that he has worked for is slowly being taken away. He gave me a challenge-he said, 'I'll vote for you and if you can put at least $1 back in my pocket, I'll vote for you again'. That was a powerful and motivating request.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

Michigan State Senate District 5

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 28, 2020

[show]

Current members of the Michigan State Senate

Senators

District 1

Erika Geiss (D)

District 2

Sylvia Santana (D)

District 3

Stephanie Chang (D)

District 4

Darrin Camilleri (D)

District 5

Dayna Polehanki (D)

District 6

Mary Cavanagh (D)

District 7

Jeremy Moss (D)

District 8

Mallory McMorrow (D)

District 9

Michael Webber (R)

District 10

Paul Wojno (D)

District 11

Veronica Klinefelt (D)

District 12

Kevin Hertel (D)

District 13

Rosemary Bayer (D)

District 14

Sue Shink (D)

District 15

Jeff Irwin (D)

District 16

Joseph Bellino (R)

District 17

Jonathan Lindsey (R)

District 18

Thomas Albert (R)

District 19

Sean McCann (D)

District 20

Aric Nesbitt (R)

District 21

Sarah Anthony (D)

District 22

Lana Theis (R)

District 23

Jim Runestad (R)

District 24

Ruth Johnson (R)

District 25

Dan Lauwers (R)

District 26

Kevin Daley (R)

District 27

John Cherry (D)

District 28

Sam Singh (D)

District 29

Winnie Brinks (D)

District 30

Mark Huizenga (R)

District 31

Roger Victory (R)

District 32

Jon Bumstead (R)

District 33

Rick Outman (R)

District 34

Roger Hauck (R)

District 35

Vacant

District 36

Michele Hoitenga (R)

District 37

John Damoose (R)

District 38

Ed McBroom (R)

Democratic Party (19)

Republican Party (18)

Vacancies (1)

[bio-1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 28, 2020

[1]

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Emily Bauman

Contents

Biography

Elections

2022

General election

General election for Michigan State Senate District 5

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 5

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 5

Campaign finance

Endorsements

2020

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 16

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 16

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 16

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

2020

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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