Ken Yonker
Ken Yonker is a former Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 72 from 2010 to 2017. From 2015 to 2017, Yonker served as an Assistant Majority Floor Leader.
Yonker did not seek re-election to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2016 because he was term-limited.
Biography
Yonker graduated from Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Institute of Agricultural Technology. His professional experience includes working for Wycliffe Bible Translators.
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Yonker served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Health Policy |
| • Regulatory Reform |
| • Tax Policy |
| • Transportation and Infrastructure |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Yonker served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2012 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Elections and Ethics |
| • Health Policy |
| • Michigan Competitiveness, Vice chair |
| • Regulatory Reform |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Yonker served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Education |
| • Health Policy |
| • Insurance |
| • Regulatory Reform, Vice chair |
Sponsored legislation
Campaign themes
2014
Yonker's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[1]
Supporting A Stronger Economic Strategy
- Excerpt: "Voted for a gimmick-free state budget that boldly eliminated $1.7 billion in government spending while paying off long-term debt."
Leading Government Reform Efforts
- Excerpt: "Sponsored teacher tenure reforms that ensure the best teachers are finding their way into our children’s classrooms."
Fighting For Our Values & Our Future
- Excerpt: "Voted to stop domestic partner benefits for state workers."
Note: Yonker's campaign themes did not change from 2012.
Elections
2016
Elections for the Michigan House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 19, 2016. Incumbent Ken Yonker (R) did not seek re-election because of term-limits.
Steven Johnson defeated Steve Shoemaker in the Michigan House of Representatives District 72 general election.[2]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 72 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Steven Johnson |
58.49% | 26,343 | |
| Democratic | Steve Shoemaker | 41.51% | 18,693 | |
| Total Votes | 45,036 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State | ||||
Steve Shoemaker defeated Dick Cunningham in the Michigan House of Representatives District 72 Democratic primary.[3][4]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 72 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Steve Shoemaker |
64.17% | 1,223 | |
| Democratic | Dick Cunningham | 35.83% | 683 | |
| Total Votes | 1,906 | |||
Steven Johnson defeated Robert Coughlin, Ryan Gallogly, Bill Hirsch and Tony Noto defeated in the Michigan House of Representatives District 72 Republican primary.[3][4]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 72 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Steven Johnson |
29.80% | 2,257 | |
| Republican | Robert Coughlin | 8.53% | 646 | |
| Republican | Ryan Gallogly | 20.53% | 1,555 | |
| Republican | Bill Hirsch | 18.05% | 1,367 | |
| Republican | Tony Noto | 23.08% | 1,748 | |
| Total Votes | 7,573 | |||
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. Kemal Hamulic was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Ken Yonker defeated Gabe Hudson in the Republican primary. Yonker defeated Hamulic in the general election.[5][6][7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ken Yonker Incumbent |
68.2% | 17,882 | |
| Democratic | Kemal Hamulic | 31.8% | 8,332 | |
| Total Votes | 26,214 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Ken Yonker Incumbent |
70.3% | 5,778 |
| Gabe Hudson | 29.7% | 2,443 |
| Total Votes | 8,221 | |
2012
Yonker won re-election in the 2012 election for Michigan House of Representatives District 72. He was unopposed in the August 7 Republican primary and defeated Scott Urbanowski (D) and William R. Wenzel (L) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ken Yonker Incumbent |
58.5% | 24,653 | |
| Democratic | Scott Urbanowski | 37.9% | 15,982 | |
| Libertarian | William Wenzel | 3.5% | 1,481 | |
| Total Votes | 42,116 | |||
2010
Yonker won election to the District 72 seat in 2010. He defeated Frederick Fleischmann and Eric Larson in the August 3 Republican primary. He defeated Brian Bosak (D) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[10][11]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 72 General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Ken Yonker (R)
|
24,801 | |||
| Brian Bosak (D) | 9,219 | |||
| William Wenzel (L) | 908 | |||
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
Tea Party Scorecard
The Independent Tea Party Patriots, a Michigan Tea Party group, grades the votes of this and every other Michigan legislator on “core tea party issues” in a regularly-updated scorecard. 100% is considered an ideal rating.[12]
January 2011 - March 2012
Ken Yonker received a 69% rating on the January 2011 - March 2012 Tea Party Scorecard.[12]
Endorsements
2014
In 2014, Yonker's endorsements included the following:[13]
- Congressman Bill Huizenga
- Henry & Connie Mast
- Craig & Sue Newhof
- Terri Lynn Land & Dan Hibma
- Denny Gillem - LTC, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Mark Jansen - State Senator
- Tonya Schuitmaker - State Senator
- Peter MacGregor - State Representative
- Mark DeYoung - Allegan County Commissioner
- Don Hilton - Gaines Township Supervisor
- Tim Bala - Mayor of the City of Wayland
- John Tuinstra - Dorr Township Trustee
- Roger Van Volkinburg - Wayland Twp Supervisor
- Jim Stein - Wayland Township Trustee
- Gerry Hildenbrand - Allegan County GOP
- Josh Leatherman - Allegan County GOP, Chairman
- Right to Life of Michigan[14]
- Michigan Chamber of Commerce
- National Rifle Association
- Citizens for Traditional Values
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Yonker and his wife, Amy, have four children.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Ken + Yonker + Michigan + Legislature
See also
- Michigan State Legislature
- Michigan House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Michigan state legislative districts
External links
- Office website
- Official campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Profile from Vote-USA
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ kenyonker.com, "Official campaign website," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 official general election results," accessed May 2, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Candidate Listing," accessed April 22, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Election Results," accessed August 2, 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
- ↑ Associated Press, "Michigan - Summary Vote Results," accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "State Representative," accessed March 23, 2014
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "State Representative," accessed March 23, 2014
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Michigan Votes, "Tea Party Scorecard Jan 2011-Mar 2012," accessed June 25, 2012
- ↑ kenyonker.com, "Endorsements," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Right to Life of Michigan, "Elections," accessed June 18, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Justin Amash (R) |
Michigan House of Representatives District 72 2011–2016 |
Succeeded by Steven Johnson (R) |
