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Michigan's 13th Congressional District elections, 2014
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November 4, 2014 |
August 5, 2014 |
John Conyers, Jr.  |
John Conyers, Jr. |
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Cook Political Report: Solid D[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe D[2] |
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The 13th Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Rep. John Conyers, a 50 year incumbent, came under fire surrounding the signatures required for his ballot access. Although Conyers was temporarily removed from the ballot, he was eventually reinstated. He defeated his primary opponent, Horace Sheffield, to win the nomination for his re-election. Conyers defeated Jeff Gorman (R), Chris Sharer(L) and Sam Johnson (I) in the general election.[3]
General election opponent Jeff Gorman ran unopposed in the Republican primary to win his nomination. Despite the controversy surrounding Conyers, polls suggested he would find himself maintaining his congressional seat. In 2012, Conyers defeated his Republican opponent by over 69 percentage points.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Michigan utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[4][5]
Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters must have registered by June 7, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 6, 2014.[6]
- See also: Michigan elections, 2014
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was John Conyers, Jr. (D), who was first elected in 1964.
Michigan's 13th Congressional District is located in the southeastern region of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is made up of portions of Wayne county including some areas of the city of Detroit.[7]
Candidates
General election candidates
- John Conyers, Jr. - Incumbent
Jeff Gorman
Chris Sharer
Sam Johnson
August 5, 2014, primary results
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Ballot requirement controversy
On May 13, 2014, the Wayne County Clerk, Cathy Garrett, announced that the signatures coming from two of Conyers' petition circulators were invalid, disqualifying him from the August 5 primary ballot.[8] It was later discovered that one of Conyers' petitioners was a fugitive with a criminal record.[9][10]
On May 23, 2014, a federal judge overturned the original decision. Because of this, Conyers was reinstated on the ballot.
The judge said in his ruling: "There is evidence that their failure to comply with the Registration Statute was the result of good faith mistakes and that they believed they were in compliance with the statute."[11]
General election results
The 13th Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent John Conyers, Jr. (D) defeated challengers Jeff Gorman (R), Chris Sharer (L) and Sam Johnson (I) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  John Conyers, Jr. Incumbent |
79.5% | 132,710 | |
| Republican | Jeff Gorman | 16.3% | 27,234 | |
| Libertarian | Chris Sharer | 2.1% | 3,537 | |
| Independent | Sam Johnson | 2.1% | 3,466 | |
| Total Votes | 166,947 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State | ||||
Primary results
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
John Conyers, Jr. Incumbent |
86.3% | 42,005 | ||
| Horace Sheffield | 13.7% | 6,696 | ||
| Total Votes | 48,701 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State |
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Issues
Government shutdown
- See also: United States budget debate, 2013
On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[12] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[13] John Conyers, Jr. voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[14]
The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[15] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. John Conyers, Jr. voted for HR 2775.[16]
Campaign contributions
John Conyers, Jr.
| John Conyers (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[17] | April 15, 2013 | $63,322.67 | $92,905.18 | $(82,660.82) | $73,567.03 | ||||
| July Quarterly[18] | July 15, 2013 | $73,567.03 | $90,218.83 | $(49,472.70) | $114,313.16 | ||||
| October Quarterly[19] | October 15, 2013 | $114,313.16 | $83,684.56 | $(65,482.43) | $132,515.29 | ||||
| Year-End[20] | January 31, 2014 | $132,515.29 | $75,057.68 | $(91,262.92) | $116,310.05 | ||||
| April Quarterly[21] | April 15, 2014 | $116,310.05 | $60,921.19 | $(65,228.62) | $112,002.62 | ||||
| July Quarterly | July 15, 2014 | $112,002.00 | $166,195.00 | $(135,539.00) | $143,806.00 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $568,982.44 | $(489,646.49) | ||||||||
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
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| Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
2012
The 13th Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. The incumbent from the 14th District, John Conyers, Jr., won the election in the district.[22]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Conyers, Jr. Incumbent |
82.8% | 235,336 | |
| Republican | Harry T. Sawicki | 13.6% | 38,769 | |
| Libertarian | Chris Sharer | 2.1% | 6,076 | |
| UST | Martin Gray | 1.4% | 4,089 | |
| Total Votes | 284,270 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Hansen Clarke won election to the United States House. He defeated John Hauler (R), George Corsetti (G), Duane Montgomery (NPA), Heidi Peterson (L) and James Casha (Write-in) in the general election.[23]
| U.S. House, Michigan District 13 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Hansen Clarke |
79.4% | 100,885 | |
| Republican | John Hauler | 18.5% | 23,462 | |
| Green | George Corsetti | 0.8% | 1,032 | |
| No Party Affiliation | Duane Montgomery | 0.7% | 881 | |
| Libertarian | Heidi Peterson | 0.6% | 815 | |
| Write-in | James Casha | 0% | 1 | |
| Total Votes | 127,076 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2014
- John Conyers, Jr.
- Jeff Gorman
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR JULY 26, 2014," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "House Elections Results," accessed November 11, 2014
- ↑ NCSL, "State Primary Election Types," accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ Michigan.gov, "Questions and Answers: Michigan’s Presidential Primary," accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ Michigan Department of State Website, "Registering to Vote: Step 2," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Washington Post, "Wait, John Conyers was ruled ineligible for the ballot after 50 years in office?" May 13, 2014
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Petition worker for U.S. Rep John Conyers is a fugitive," May 9, 2014
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Long-Serving Congressman John Conyers May Not Make It On The Primary Ballot," May 2, 2014
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Federal judge puts U.S. Rep. John Conyers back on primary ballot," May 23, 2014
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Buzzfeed, "Government Shutdown: How We Got Here," accessed October 1, 2013
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013
- ↑ U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 550," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Conyers April Quarterly," accessed July 30, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Conyers July Quarterly," accessed July 30, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Conyers October Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Conyers Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "John Conyers April Quarterly," accessed April 21, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Michigan," accessed November 3, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
