Ryan Foster

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ryan Foster

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 6, 2024

Education

High school

Shrine High School

Bachelor's

Ferris State University, 2002

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

2015 - 2018

Service / branch

U.S. Army Reserve

Years of service

2016 - 2019

Personal

Birthplace

Southfield, Mich.

Religion

African Methodist Episcopal Church

Profession

Transportation

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Ryan Foster (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 12th Congressional District. He was disqualified from the Democratic primary scheduled on August 6, 2024.

Foster completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Ryan Foster was born in Southfield, Michigan. Foster's career experience includes working in transportation and policing. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 2016 to 2019. Foster earned a bachelor's degree from Ferris State University in 2002.

Elections

2024

See also: Michigan's 12th Congressional District election, 2024

Michigan's 12th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 Republican primary)

Michigan's 12th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Michigan District 12

Incumbent Rashida Tlaib defeated James Hooper, Gary Walkowicz, and Brenda Sanders in the general election for U.S. House Michigan District 12 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rashida Tlaib (D)	69.7	253,354
		James Hooper (R)	25.4	92,490
		Gary Walkowicz (Working Class Party)	2.6	9,401
		Brenda Sanders (G)	2.3	8,254

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 363,499
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 12

Incumbent Rashida Tlaib advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 12 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rashida Tlaib	99.9	84,138
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	108

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 84,246
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Royce Kinniebrew (D)
• Ryan Foster (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 12

James Hooper defeated Linda Sawyer in the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 12 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Hooper	60.5	12,001
		Linda Sawyer	39.5	7,828

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,829
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Hassan Nehme (R)
• Steven Elliott (R)

Green convention

Green convention for U.S. House Michigan District 12

Brenda Sanders advanced from the Green convention for U.S. House Michigan District 12 on July 27, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Brenda Sanders (G)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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.

Working Class Party convention

Working Class Party convention for U.S. House Michigan District 12

Gary Walkowicz advanced from the Working Class Party convention for U.S. House Michigan District 12 on June 23, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Gary Walkowicz (Working Class Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Foster in this election.

2022

See also: Michigan State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Michigan State Senate District 7

Incumbent Jeremy Moss defeated Corinne Khederian in the general election for Michigan State Senate District 7 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeremy Moss (D)	74.2	80,597
		Corinne Khederian (R)	25.8	28,008

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 108,605
= 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 State Senate District 7

Incumbent Jeremy Moss defeated Ryan Foster in the Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 7 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeremy Moss	82.9	32,022
		Ryan Foster	17.1	6,584

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,606
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Vernon Molnar (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 7

Corinne Khederian advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 7 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Corinne Khederian	100.0	10,264

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,264
= 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 themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ryan Foster completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Foster'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.

I am running as a write-in candidate district 12. I was removed from the ballot because of Rashida Tliab dirty tricks. I got over 1,000 signatures my self and paid no company. Rashida Tliab paid people to get her signatures.

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?

• Stand with Israel, in bible it says people who bless Abraham I will bless and people who curse him I will curse.
• Black representation in Michigan. There isn't any and Rashida Tliab is another candidate that use black people for votes, but actual hate black people.
• We got 34 trillion in debt and no democrat especially Rashida Tliab wants to address it, because they live fine and why would they care.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Cut off funding to countries that hate us. Spend money in our own country.

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

Apostle Paul, he was killed for spreading the word of God.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Bible

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

Make laws that help society

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

I am bold

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

Honesty and if people don't like the truth, too bad!

What legacy would you like to leave?

Changed the world

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

Graduated Ferris State 2002

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

Paper route, 3rd grade through 5th grade

What is your favorite book? Why?

Hard stuff, former mayor of Detroit young gave his insight of political struggle

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Joker

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

Drake- we made it

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

Rooting for the Detroit lions

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

435 members

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No, example Lincoln had one term as rep, then became president.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Jobs and new careers

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Every position should be term limits

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Lyndon b Johnson

Both sitting representatives 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?

Resident that is Jewish from Southfield, mi said how can Rashida Tliab represent us if she said US Jews shouldn't exist.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Congress woman incumbent Rashida Tliab!

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

Yes

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

Got to address the debt first. Raise taxes for rich people, cut wasted spending and military down and rebuild our country through jobs and invest in education only in rural and inner city.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Greed, tackle greed. Rich incumbents that promote citizens chanting death to America!

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

None

What committees interest you?

Welfare, policing and education

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

This rich politicians know who they want to block and support. The game is rigged, I want to destroy 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.

Note: Foster submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on June 12, 2024.

Show past responsesHide past responses

April 18 submission

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Ryan Foster running for MI rep 12. I believe that our country should focus more on the worker class instead of giving funds to over seas countries.

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?

• I am a candidate that supports Israel because it says in our Bible to bless those that are the seed of Abraham. Our country has been blessed since.
• Education k-5 should be heavy investment. If we want to cut down crime, prisons and minorites missing the American dream- education is the answer.
• Representation in Michigan for Black people is gone. These democrat candidates never lived in black cities, show up in there church and spend millions of dollars lieing to them for there vote. Black cities have the worst crime, roads, schools and no careers.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

We have 34 trillion debt, that's terrible. We need to adjust or we won't have a country anymore!

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

Lyndon B Johnson because he passed and pushed for the great society. medicare, Medicare, Welfare for those that need it, not for lazy, freeloaders that use the system.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Hard stuff by former mayor of Detroit Coleman Young

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

Empathy, trust, hard work, determination and God fearing

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

I don't care what people will say or the polls. I am going to say the truth.

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

Loving this country. Some members in the democrat party hate the police, hate Israel and Black representation in Michigan

What legacy would you like to leave?

People might not like me but I got things done!

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

Graduating from Ferris State University dec 2002

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

Paper route, 3rd to 5th grade Southfield, Mi

What is your favorite book? Why?

Bible because it is the answer to all our problems and warnings of what's coming.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

The joker !

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

Sade- Love is stronger than Pride

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

Forgiving people that lie and steal from you, I know all about it.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

It is the part of government that makes laws, very important.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No, Nelson Mandela was in prison 30 years, got out and was a great statesmen. And Abraham Lincoln had one term under his belt, and he was out greatest president.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Creating jobs and having citizens that have the skills to do them.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes

What are your thoughts on term limits?

It should be term limits for every federal position. Some of these politico figures live like Kings.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Both sitting representatives 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?

Resident in Redford, mi told me he was upset he couldn't get certain funds for state because he was not a females, or a minority, or had a disability. He said society has failed.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Rashida Tlaib

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

Yes

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

I will try to direct all funds to communities that need it. Rural and urban America. Foreign countries beside Israel, Great Britain, Canada and Mexico would get $0

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Corruption and greed of rich politicians, companies and Billionaires

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

None so far

What committees interest you?

Policing, education and outreach to rural America

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Working class people have a small shot running for office. All your candidates are rich, never worker a job in their life, silver spoons and all worked on someone else staff, all of them!

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.

Note: Foster submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on April 18, 2024.

2022

Ryan Foster completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Foster'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.

I am a current teacher at Detroit Public Safety Academy High School. I worked at Detroit p.d. 2003-2005 and Dallas pd 2007-2013. And ran for Southfield City Council 2021

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?

• Making Michigan's budget balanced
• Lowing taxes for small businesses
• Investing in education now so we can stop wasting money on future prisons

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Community policing should work for everybody. Up holding the law and showing citizens that police officers are here to help

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

I look up to A. Phillip Randolph. He was a union leader that never wanted the spot light. He organized the march on Washington with MLK in 1963.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

https://youtu.be/n9lg1E8peT4

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

Empathy

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

I believe that our country is ran from the bottom up.

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

Listen more than talk

What legacy would you like to leave?

Cutting our national debt

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

Watching Sept 11 at Ferris State in the gym. I was 21.

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

Working at K-mart in high school for two years 1996-1998

What is your favorite book? Why?

Hard stuff...coleman young biography

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Joker in dark knight

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

Journey...dont stop believing

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

Getting along with lazy people.

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

Yes, both can work across the isle to make a better Michigan.

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

Erasing our debt and lowing our spending on prisons. And increase funding on roads.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a unicameral state legislature, in your opinion?

Every 2 to 4 years the landscape changes. But we must all have the same bright goal for our state.

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

No, Donald Trump came from nowhere and president Polk. Both had a impact.

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

Yes because you have to govern with opposites like Reagan did.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Make it fair as possible

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

Environment

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Brenda Lawrence of Southfield. U.S. house of representatives

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

Maybe

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?

https://youtu.be/i4XtJySvIZI

Tell us your favorite joke.

Why is 6 scared of 7. Because 789

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

Yes

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

Yes, Kennedy had a compromise with Russia after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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

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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.

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Ryan Foster campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Michigan District 12	Disqualified primary	$0	N/A**
2022	Michigan State Senate District 7	Lost primary	$0	$0
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2024 Elections

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External links

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Candidate

U.S. House Michigan District 12

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Footnotes

[show]

Michigan's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Gary Peters (D)

Elissa Slotkin (D)

Representatives

District 1

Jack Bergman (R)

District 2

John Moolenaar (R)

District 3

Hillary Scholten (D)

District 4

Bill Huizenga (R)

District 5

Tim Walberg (R)

District 6

Debbie Dingell (D)

District 7

Tom Barrett (R)

District 8

Kristen Rivet (D)

District 9

Lisa McClain (R)

District 10

John James (R)

District 11

Haley Stevens (D)

District 12

Rashida Tlaib (D)

District 13

Shri Thanedar (D)

Democratic Party (8)

Republican Party (7)