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Thaddeus McCotter
Thaddeus McCotter (b. August 22, 1965) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Michigan's 11th Congressional District. McCotter served in the House from 2002-2012.
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, McCotter was a "far-right Republican."[1]
After failing to file sufficient valid signatures in the 2012 nomination process, McCotter opted to resign at the end of the 112th Congress.[2] On July 6, 2012, McCotter announced that he would not finish out the rest of his term; Michigan law required the state to hold a special election to select a representative to finish out McCotter's term.[3]
Biography
McCotter was born in 1965 in Livonia, MI. After graduating from Detroit Central Catholic High School, McCotter earned his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Detroit in 1987 and 1990, respectively. Prior to his political career, McCotter worked as an attorney.[4]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of McCotter's political career:[4]
- Michigan State Senate, 1998-2002
- U.S. House of Representatives, 11th Congressional District of Michigan, 2003-2012
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2011-2012
McCotter served on the following House committees[5]:
- Financial Services Committee
- Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises
- Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
Elections
2012
McCotter initially intended to run for re-election. After first filing as a Republican but failing to obtain enough valid signatures, McCotter said he would run as a write-in candidate. However, on June 2, 2012, McCotter announced he would instead retire rather then attempt the write-in campaign.[2]
On July 6, 2012, McCotter announced that he would resign early and not finish out the remainder of his term. He said that circumstances had put too much strain on his family for him to be able to serve well.[3]
On July 21, 2012, the Detroit Free Press said that an early special election would cost Wayne and Oakland counties and the communities in the 11th Congressional District nearly $650,000.[6]
Ballot access issues
In a statement released May 25, 2012, McCotter said the Secretary of State questioned the number of valid signatures he submitted to qualify for ballot. “I have been apprised my campaign may have submitted insufficient petition signatures to appear on the August primary ballot as a candidate for the 11th Congressional District’s Republican nomination,” he explained.[7]
Congressional candidates are required to submit at least 1,000 valid signatures, but may submit up to 2,000.[8]
The one-time Republican presidential hopeful said on May 29 that he would run as a write-in-candidate for re-election to the House.[9] The Secretary of State determined that only 244 of the signatures (13 percent) were valid.[10] However, one June 2, he withdrew from the race.[2]
2010
On November 2, 2010, McCotter won re-election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Natalie Mosher (D), and John J. Tatar (L) in the general election.[11]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Michigan's 11th Congressional District, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Thaddeus McCotter Incumbent |
59.3% | 141,224 | |
| Democratic | Natalie Mosher | 38.5% | 91,710 | |
| Libertarian | John J. Tatar | 2.2% | 5,353 | |
| Total Votes | 238,287 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Analysis
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. McCotter paid his congressional staff a total of $1,013,623 in 2011. He ranked 36th on the list of the highest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranked 149th overall of the highest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Michigan ranked 13th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[12]
Staff bonuses
According to an analysis by CNN, McCotter was one of nearly 25 percent of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. McCotter's staff was given an apparent $16,384.72 in bonus money.[13]
Net worth
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, McCotter's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $312,036 and $1,042,000. That averages to $677,018, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[14]
Political Positions
National Journal vote ratings
Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.
2012
According to the data released in 2013, McCotter ranked 112th in the conservative rankings in 2012.[15]
2011
According to the data released in 2012, Thaddeus McCotter ranked 146th in the conservative rankings in 2011.[16]
Voting with party
November 2011
Thaddeus McCotter voted with the Republican Party 92.1 percent of the time, which ranked 155 among the 242 House Republican members as of December 2011.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
McCotter lives in Livonia, MI with his wife, Rita, and their three children.[17]
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial (federal level):
- Financial (state level):
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
Footnotes
- ↑ GovTrack, "McCotter" accessed May 25, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Detroit News, "McCotter ends write-in campaign for Congress," June 2, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Detroit News, "McCotter abruptly leaves Congress," July 6, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Biographical Guide to Members of Congress, "Thaddeus McCotter" accessed December 23, 2011
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "House of Representatives Committee Assignments" accessed December 23, 2011
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Costly special primary likely" July 27, 2012
- ↑ Roll Call, "Michigan: Thaddeus McCotter Could Get Booted from the Ballot," May 26, 2012
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter could be left off primary," May 26, 2012
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Rep. McCotter runs for re-election as a write-in" May 31, 2012
- ↑ The Detroit News, "87% of McCotter petition signatures invalid," May 30, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013 accessed December 23, 2011
- ↑ LegiStorm "Thad McCotter"
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Congressional bonuses in a time of cuts," accessed March 8, 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "McCotter, (R-Michigan), 2010"
- ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: House Liberal Scores by Issue Area," February 26, 2013
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," accessed February 23, 2012
- ↑ Official House Site, "Full Biography," accessed December 23, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joe Knollenberg |
U.S. House of Representatives - Michigan District 11 2003-2012 |
Succeeded by David Curson (D) |
