Todd Courser
Todd Courser was a 2016 Republican special election candidate for District 82 of the Michigan House of Representatives.[1][2]
Courser is a former Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 82 from 2014 to September 11, 2015. He resigned in the early morning of September 11 when it became clear that Republicans had secured enough support from Democrats to expel him from office for misconduct related to his extramarital affair with Rep. Cindy Gamrat (R-Plainville). Gamrat was expelled from office shortly after Courser resigned.[3]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Courser served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture |
| • Criminal Justice |
| • Education |
| • Military and Veterans Affairs |
| • Regulatory Reform |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2015
A special election for the position of Michigan House of Representatives District 82 was called for March 8, 2016. A primary election took place on November 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was September 18, 2015.[1]
The seat was vacant following Todd Courser's (R) resignation on September 11, 2015. He resigned when it became clear that Republicans had secured enough support from Democrats to expel him from office for misconduct related to his extramarital affair with Rep. Cindy Gamrat (R-Plainville).[3]
Margaret Guerrero DeLuca defeated R. D. Bohm and Eric Johnson in the Democratic primary. Gary Howell defeated Russell Adams, Todd Courser, Sharna Cramer Smith, Jake Davison, James Dewilde, Rick Guerrero, Ian Kempf, Allan Landosky, Jan Peabody and Chris Tuski in the Republican primary.[2] Tracy Spilker ran as a Libertarian candidate. Howell defeated Guerrero DeLuca and Spilker in the special election.[4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Gary Howell |
58.6% | 13,907 | |
| Democratic | Margaret Guerrero DeLuca | 36.6% | 8,680 | |
| Libertarian | Tracy Spilker | 4.9% | 1,154 | |
| Total Votes | 23,741 | |||
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 82 Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Margaret Guerrero DeLuca |
85.1% | 2,631 |
| Eric Johnson | 10.8% | 334 |
| R. D. Bohm | 4% | 125 |
| Total Votes | 3,090 | |
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 82 Republican Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Gary Howell |
26.8% | 3,070 |
| Jan Peabody | 21.1% | 2,418 |
| Chris Tuski | 20.9% | 2,396 |
| Ian Kempf | 18.1% | 2,069 |
| Sharna Cramer Smith | 4.7% | 540 |
| Todd Courser | 3.6% | 415 |
| Jake Davison | 1.8% | 205 |
| Rick Guerrero | 1.1% | 128 |
| Russell Adams | 1.1% | 125 |
| Allan Landosky | 0.4% | 49 |
| James Dewilde | 0.3% | 33 |
| Total Votes | 11,448 | |
2014
Elections for the Michigan House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 22, 2014. Margaret Guerrero DeLuca defeated Immanuel Eickholdt in the Democratic primary. Todd Courser defeated Jacob Hunsanger, Jan Peabody and Sharna Smith in the Republican primary. Courser defeated DeLuca in the general election.[6][7][8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Todd Courser |
55.1% | 15,699 | |
| Democratic | Margaret Guerrero DeLuca | 44.9% | 12,799 | |
| Total Votes | 28,498 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Margaret Guerrero DeLuca |
80.5% | 2,326 |
| Immanuel Eickholdt | 19.5% | 562 |
| Total Votes | 2,888 | |
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Todd Courser |
36.9% | 3,477 |
| Jan Peabody | 33.1% | 3,126 |
| Jacob Hunsanger | 16.9% | 1,593 |
| Sharna Smith | 13.1% | 1,239 |
| Total Votes | 9,435 | |
Endorsements
In 2014, Courser's endorsements included the following:
- Right to Life of Michigan[10]
2010
- See also: Michigan State Senate elections, 2010
Courser was a Republican candidate for District 25 in the Michigan State Senate in the November 2, 2010, state legislative elections. He was defeated by Phil Pavlov in the August 3 Republican primary.
Campaign themes
2014
Courser's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[11]
Education
- Excerpt: "Michigan Families need better choices and affordable options for educating their children. We need to expand school choice options, education reform that utilizes all the tools we have to the best of our abilities, to put more parents in control of their children’s education and to work to eliminate federal and state bureaucracies that hinder creativity, choice, and freedom of expression from administrators, teachers and students."
Freedom to Be Born
- Excerpt: "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are at the core of American values. I unequivocally believe in the right to life of unborn children. I’m 100% Pro-Life. I will not vote for any bill that authorizes or pays for abortion under any circumstance."
2nd Amendment
- Excerpt: "I believe people have the right to protect themselves from harm, including that which comes from their own government."
Ending Crony Capitalism And Creating Jobs
- Excerpt: "We need to let individuality, entrepreneurship, determination and the marketplace establish a thriving private sector and not the government."
Roads
- Excerpt: "Our infrastructure is in disarray and the potholes are out of control. In fact, according to American Society of Civil Engineers, Michigan has the 3rd worst roads in the country. We can fix them now and we can do it without raising taxes and fees."
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.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Michigan State Legislature in 2015.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Michigan State Legislature in 2014.
- Clean Water Action — Legislators are scored on water-related bills.
- Michigan Chamber of Commerce — Legislators are scored on business-related bills.
- Michigan League of Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on environmental issues.
- MIRS — Legislators are scored on bills selected by the MIRS editor.
- Sierra Club Michigan — Legislators are scored on environmental issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on conservative issues.
Noteworthy events
Extramarital affair
On August 7, 2015, The Detroit News reported that Rep. Courser distributed a fake email that suggested that he had sex with a male prostitute so he could hide his affair with Rep. Cindy Gamrat (R). Courser's former aide Ben Graham secretly made audio recordings of Courser asking him to help hide the affair.[12] After the affair was revealed, House Speaker Kevin Cotter (R-99) ordered an investigation into whether the representatives used their offices to cover up the affair.[13]
On August 24, 2015, House Speaker Cotter was presented with the findings of the investigation, but it was not until August 31 that the investigative report was revealed to the public.[14] The investigation found that Courser and Gamrat were guilty of misconduct in office.[15]
A House select committee began hearings on September 1.[15] Courser and Gamrat apologized for their actions before the committee and asked for censure.[16][17]
On September 10, 2015, the special committee voted 4-0 to recommend expulsion from the state House. The recommendation then went before the full state House and at 4:13 a.m. on Friday, September 11, 2015, the House voted 91-12 to expel Gamrat from office. Courser resigned at 3:12 a.m., shortly before the House made a third attempt to expel him.[18][19]
See also
- Michigan House of Representatives
- Michigan House of Representatives District 82
- Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2014
- State legislative special elections, 2016
- Michigan State Legislature
External links
- Official campaign website
- Candidate list
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Profile from Vote-USA
- Todd Courser on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Detroit Free Press, "Calley announces elections for Courser, Gamrat seats," accessed September 14, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Michigan Department of State, "2015 Unofficial Michigan Special Primary Candidate Listing," accessed September 21, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Holland Sentinel, "UPDATE: Cindy Gamrat expelled from Michigan House, Todd Courser resigns after affair cover-up," accessed September 11, 2015
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Election Results: General election," accessed March 28, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Election Results: Primary election," accessed March 28, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Representative in State Legislature," accessed August 6, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Representative in State Legislature," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2014 Official Michigan Primary Candidate Listing," accessed May 27, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2014 Official Michigan General Candidate Listing," accessed September 8, 2014
- ↑ Right to Life of Michigan, "Elections," accessed June 18, 2014
- ↑ toddcourser.com, "Issues," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ detroitnews.com, "Recordings: State rep asked aide to hide relationship," August 7, 2015
- ↑ NY Daily News, "Michigan Rep. Todd Courser asks aide to cover up affair with House colleague, say he had gay sex with prostitute in leaked audio," August 7, 2015
- ↑ woodtv.com, "Speaker: Evidence of misconduct from Courser, Gamrat," accessed August 27, 2015
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 freep.com/, "House report: Courser, Gamrat guilty of misconduct," accessed August 31, 2015
- ↑ woodtv.com, "Rep. Gamrat admits to misconduct; asks for censure," accessed September 8, 2015
- ↑ mlive.com/, "Michigan Rep. Todd Courser, seeking censure, apologizes for bizarre email: 'I wanted to die'," accessed September 9, 2015
- ↑ Holland Sentinel, "UPDATE: Panel urges expulsion for Cindy Gamrat, Todd Courser for misconduct," accessed September 10, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedEXPULSION
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kevin Daley (R) |
Michigan House of Representatives District 82 Jan. 1, 2015–Sept. 11, 2015 |
Succeeded by Gary Howell (R) |
