Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Rudy Howard (Michigan)
Rudy Howard (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 96. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Howard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Rudy Howard was born in Owosso, Michigan. He earned a bachelor's degree from Lander University in 1997, a graduate degree from Northern Kentucky University in 2011, and a graduate degree from the University of Michigan, Flint in 2023. Howard's career experience includes working in auto manufacturing, high volume distribution, and education. As of 2024, he was affiliated with the Bay City Lions Club.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 96
Incumbent Timothy Beson defeated Rudy Howard in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 96 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Timothy Beson (R) | 60.3 | 31,135 |
 | Rudy Howard (D)  | 39.7 | 20,474 | |
| Total votes: 51,609 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 96
Rudy Howard advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 96 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rudy Howard | 100.0 | 8,704 |
| Total votes: 8,704 | |||
| = 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 96
Incumbent Timothy Beson defeated Chaz Fowler in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 96 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Timothy Beson | 84.4 | 7,263 |
 | Chaz Fowler | 15.6 | 1,346 | |
| Total votes: 8,609 | |||
| = 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 Howard's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Howard in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Rudy Howard completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Howard's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- Economic Opportunity: In many parts of Michigan, including Bay County, the cost of living is too high and wages are too low. As your representative, Rudy will support legislation that brings back high-paying jobs and that builds partnerships across sectors and industries. He will fight for fair tax incentives that create jobs and against tax loopholes that put corporate profit over people. Coming from three generations of union labor, Rudy knows that strong worker’s rights are key to robust economies, and he will support legislation that protects the right to collective bargaining and strike for all workers, including public employees.
- Rebuilding Infrastructure: For Michigan to compete and thrive in the 21st century, we need reliable, cutting-edge infrastructure. Rebuilding Michigan’s infrastructure will create jobs, enhance transportation options, attract businesses, and spur economic growth. With improved infrastructure across the board, Michigan can bolster resilience against future challenges and lay a foundation for sustained development and competitiveness for this century and beyond. As your representative, Rudy will support legislation to build and repair critical infrastructure from roads and bridges to high-speed internet and modern sewers.
- Education & Job Training: Our children deserve every opportunity for safe, affordable, and high-quality education from pre-K through university and trade schools. And no child’s opportunities should be defined by the ZIP code they are born into. As your representative, Rudy will fight for smaller class sizes, redesigned standardized testing systems, and increased availability of skilled trades training. He will also work to address the teacher shortage by supporting investments in loan-forgiveness programs and efforts to recruit and retain high-quality teachers. An educator himself, Rudy knows that strong schools build strong communities, and he is committed to every family having the best education available.
Rudy's background in labor and his family's history of public service demonstrate his dedication to building a strong, supportive community much like George Bailey does in Bedford Falls. Rudy believes in fighting for economic opportunities, workers' rights, and robust infrastructure, which align with George Bailey's efforts to improve the lives of his neighbors by providing affordable housing and standing up against corporate greed.
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.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 25, 2024
