This article needs to be updated.(March 2021) |
Kerry Lynn Bentivolio [1] (born October 6,1951) is an American politician and educator who is the former United States Representative for Michigan's 11th congressional district ,in office from 2013 to 2015. Bentivolio,a Republican,defeated Democratic nominee Syed Taj,a physician,in the November 6,2012 election. [2] Bentivolio was defeated for the Republican nomination in his bid for a second term by attorney David Trott. [3] He launched a write-in campaign for the November 2014 general election but lost again to Trott. After Trott announced he was not seeking reelection in 2018,Bentivolio again sought election in the eleventh district,but finished last in the primary. [4] In October 2019,Bentivolio announced that he would again run for his former congressional seat against Democrat Haley Stevens in the 2020 election. [5] Bentivolio would finish third in the Republican primary.
Bentivolio worked as a designer in the automotive industry for twenty years,followed by teaching for fifteen years in schools and institutions. [6] He is an Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War,the Gulf War,and the Iraq War. [7]
Bentivolio was born in Detroit,Michigan in 1951. Bentivolio was raised in the Detroit area with four brothers. His father,a factory worker,served in World War II,while his grandfather served in World War I. He attended Oakland Community College from 1971 to 1983 where he earned an associate degree in Liberal Arts. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from Saint Mary's College in Michigan in 1999. He transferred to Michigan State University in East Lansing to attend further courses in 1975 and met his future wife,Karen. Later,he earned a master's degree in Education from Marygrove College in 2001. [8] [9]
Bentivolio enlisted in the United States Army in November 1968 and served in South Vietnam from 1970 to 1971 as an infantry rifleman. After a break in service,he later joined the Army National Guard in Michigan as a reservist and served for more than 20 years. Bentivolio was trained as an MLRS/HIMARS crewmember. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 with an Artillery unit as a senior human resources sergeant performing combat convoy missions. He retired as a sergeant first class after a neck injury in 2008. Bentivolio's awards include the Meritorious Service Medal,Army Commendation Medal,Army Achievement Medal,and the Combat Infantryman Badge. [10]
Bentiviolio has worked as an autoworker,reindeer rancher,automotive designer,teacher,commercial home builder,Santa Claus for hire,and amateur actor before running for political office. [6] [11] He taught in private schools,public schools,and adult-education institutions.
Bentivolio said that he took up acting in movies to get rid of his stage fright in front of cameras. In 2010,he acted in the low-budget movie Lucy's Law in the role of a TV News reporter. [12] In 2011,he appeared in another low-budget political satire,The President Goes to Heaven. [13]
In 2010,Bentivolio ran for the Michigan Senate for the 15th District but was defeated by Mike Kowall in the primary. During the election,Bentivolio acknowledged that he had filed for bankruptcy in 1992 after homes he had built as a commercial builder did not sell,and Bentivolio faced judgments from creditor's collection suits in the Michigan counties of Oakland and Livingston. [6] Bentivolio also acknowledged having been involved in a lawsuit involving one of the creditors to whom he had owed money at that time;Bentivolio had started a new business doing Santa Claus appearances,and had obtained an appearance at the White House during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. Bentivolio called a news conference in Milford,whereupon the creditor complained and newspapers reported on the bankruptcy story. Bentivolio sued the vendor and several newspapers for slander and libel. [6] He won the case against his for slander and libel and was awarded $100,000. The Free Press newspaper settled out of court.
In 2011, Bentivolio announced his candidacy for Michigan's 11th congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and was considered a long-shot to defeat incumbent Thaddeus McCotter for the Republican nomination. [14] However, Bentivolio's campaign was aided by reports that McCotter failed to qualify for the primary after failing to turn in enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. [15] McCotter's campaign released a statement on May 25, 2012, conceding that there were not enough valid signatures turned in with his ballot petition. [16] [17] [18]
Although McCotter initially announced he would mount a write-in campaign for the seat, he opted to retire at the end of his term. However, McCotter unexpectedly resigned on July 6, 2012, causing a scramble for the vacant nomination. Bentivolio faced former state senator Nancy Cassis, a write-in candidate, for the district's Republican primary. Cassis and her supporters drew attention to the 2011 film The President Goes to Heaven in which Bentivolio had a prominent role as a doctor tending to a fictional president resembling George W. Bush. [19] [20] In the movie, a fictional president instigates the September 11, 2001 attacks in a plot to justify the invasion of Iraq, but cannot get to heaven until he converts to Islam. [19] [20] Bentivolio pointed out the film was a work of fiction. [20] On August 7, 2012, Bentivolio defeated Cassis and won the district's Republican nomination, pitting him against Democratic nominee Syed Taj, a physician, in the November 6, 2012 election. [21] [22] [23]
In August 2012, news reports stated that Bentivoio had been reprimanded for threatening students at Fowlerville High School. [24] Bentivolio said the allegations were false and politically motivated. [24] On November 1, 2012, five days before the general election, Phillip Bentivolio of Little Rock, Arkansas, the estranged brother of Bentivolio, told the Michigan Information and Research Service (MIRS) that his brother owed him $20,000 for houses they built together in Arkansas 20 years earlier. [25] [26] Phillip also accused his brother of being "mentally imbalanced" and "dishonest". [25] Bentivolio responded by telling MIRS that his brother called for the first time in 20 years and threatened to go to the press if Bentivolio didn't pay him $20,000. [25] [27] He said he became worried about Phillip's mental state and reported him to the Little Rock Police Department, which confirmed that officers visited and checked on Phillip's condition. [27]
On November 6, 2012, Bentivolio lost the special election for the remaining months of McCotter's term in 112th Congress to David Curson, but won the general election and became representative-elect for the 11th Congressional District.
Bentivolio faced an August 5, 2014, Republican primary challenge for the Michigan's 11th congressional district seat from lawyer David Trott who announced his bid on September 4, 2013. He was defeated by Trott in the primary, making him the third incumbent defeated in a Republican primary in 2014. He served out the rest of his term. [28] However, Bentivolio mounted what The Hill described as a lackluster write-in campaign for the November 2014 election to continue serving in his seat. [29]
Bentivolio finished the general election behind Trott, Democratic challenger, Bobby McKenzie, and Libertarian candidate John Tatar, and relinquished his seat in January. [30]
A May 20–22 poll of likely Republican primary voters run by Target Insyght and commissioned by MIRS (Michigan Information & Research Service, Inc.) showed Rep. Bentivolio leading Trott 33% to 21%. [31] The poll also showed a significant unfavorability rating for Trott among the Republicans surveyed.
A July 12–13 poll commissioned by the Detroit Free Press and WXYZ-TV indicated that Bentivolio's support had dropped considerably in the face of a strong media barrage from the Trott campaign; Trott led in the poll of likely Republican primary voters 53%–31%, with 16% undecided. [32]
In the Republican primary, Trott defeated Bentivolio by 42,008 votes (66.4%) to 21,254 (33.6%). [3] [33]
After his defeat, Bentivolio announced that he was running a write-in campaign. He alleged that after Trott won the primary, the Trott campaign "kept up the attacks, but they expanded it beyond me. After they won the race, they continued to beat up me, my family members, as well as my staff... I put them on notice: If they didn't stop I'm probably going to end up doing a write-in campaign. And they didn't stop." The Trott campaign has denied this, saying that "nothing like that occurred." Bentivolio does not think he will win, or even "get enough votes to keep [Trott] from getting elected... all I'm concerned about is getting people who want a voice through a protest vote to do a protest vote." [34]
Bentivolio originally sought to run for Congress in 2016 as a Republican again, [35] however he abandoned these plans and launched a short lived bid to seek the Libertarian nomination for vice president. [36] Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld would ultimately receive the Libertarian nomination. On July 21, 2016, Bentivolio announced he would seek a re-match with Trott in the 11th District, this time attempting to do so as an independent. [37] Bentivolio submitted more than the minimum 3,000 signatures that are required to gain a spot on the November general election ballot as a non-party affiliated candidate and was placed on the ballot. [37]
After David Trott retired, Bentivolio again filed to run in the eleventh district Republican primary. He was challenged by businesswoman and Michigan co-chair of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign Lena Epstein, State Representative Klint Kesto, State Senator Mike Kowall and former State Senator, nominee for US Senate in 2002 and nominee for the ninth district in 2010 Rocky Raczkowski. Throughout the campaign, Bentivolio polled behind most candidates, [38] [39] and on election day Bentivolio finished last in the primary, drawing 9,799 votes, or 11.3%. [40] Epstein won the nomination in a race ultimately won by Democrat Haley Stevens. [41]
After the seat was flipped into Democratic hands by Haley Stevens, Bentivolio again filed to run in the Republican primary. He faced four other candidate, plus an official write-in candidate: attorney Eric Esshaki, entrepreneur Carmelita Greco, auto show product specialist and former model Whitney Williams, and businessman Frank Acosta. Bentivolio would finish third in the primary with 18,794 votes, or 21.6%, behind Greco's 22.9% and Esshaki's 31.0%. [42] Esshaki would be defeated by Stevens in the general election. [43]
Bentivolio describes himself as a conservative with libertarian ideals on most issues and has been endorsed by the Tea Party Express. He strongly supports the right to bear arms. [44]
He describes freedom of speech as "vital to our society." [45] According to his campaign website, he opposes "any measures to regulate speech on the Internet, or to license and regulate the behavior of Internet service providers." [46]
According to Young Americans for Liberty, he supports a non-interventionist foreign policy. [47]
According to Electful.com, Bentivolio supports criminalization of abortion. [48] Bentivolio's campaign website says that he opposes federal subsidies for abortion providers, foreign aid that "supports abortion in other nations" and requirements that religious institutions provide coverage for abortion as part of federally mandated health plans. Bentivolio's website also notes that he is endorsed by the anti-abortion group Right to Life Michigan. [49]
He seeks to reduce regulation and bureaucracy, cut taxes, cut government spending, and discontinue government investment in some industries. [50]
In response to a request from a concerned citizen in his district, Bentivolio promised to hold a hearing concerning the "chemtrails" conspiracy theory. [51] [52]
In a video published [53] on August 23, 2013, from a town hall meeting in his district, Bentivolio said it would be a "dream come true" [54] to submit a bill with articles of impeachment for President Barack Obama. Bentivolio admitted to not having any outright evidence and instead requesting the advice of "lawyers, [with] PhDs in history" to "Tell me how I can impeach the president of the United States."
During the United States federal government shutdown of 2013, Bentivolio was one of the 144 House Republicans who voted against legislation to end the government shutdown. In explaining his vote, he said that the new health care mandate should be delayed for individuals as it was for businesses. [55] [56]
Bentivolio's two-year term began on January 3, 2013.
As a Representative, Bentivolio sponsored 13 bills, including: [57]
Bentivolio's wife Karen is a registered nurse. They have resided in Milford, Michigan since 1982 and live on a small farm raising reindeer trained to pull Santa's sleigh in various parades and special holiday events within Michigan. They also maintain a small flock of chickens, a 25-hive apiary of honeybees, and a 115-vine vineyard. Bentivolio is an avid sportsman and bass fisherman. He is a novice golfer and enjoys clay pigeon shooting. [58] He is a Roman Catholic. [59]
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1978 | The Betsy | Extra |
1989 | 84C MoPic' | Viet Cong Soldier |
2011 | Lucy's Law | Reporter |
2011 | The President Goes to Heaven | Chief Physician |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Mike Kowall | 16,816 | 53.2 | N/A | |
Republican | Kerry Bentivolio | 4,971 | 15.7 | N/A | |
Republican | Paul Graves | 3,554 | 11.3 | N/A | |
Republican | Alan Stephens | 2,881 | 9.1 | N/A | |
Republican | Steven Valentini | 2,045 | 6.5 | N/A | |
Republican | John Cyrus Mohyi | 1,318 | 4.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 11,845 | 37.5 | −6.5 | ||
Turnout | 31,585 | +11.1% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Kerry Bentivolio | 10,280 | 41.7 | N/A | |
Republican | Nancy Cassis | 8,803 | 35.7 | N/A | |
Republican | Carolyn Kavanagh | 2,653 | 10.8 | N/A | |
Republican | Nancy Crider | 1,208 | 4.9 | N/A | |
Republican | Steve King | 1,715 | 7.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,477 | 6.3 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 24,659 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Kerry Bentivolio | 42,470 | 65.5 | N/A | |
Republican | Nancy Cassis (write-in) | 21,436 | 33.5 | N/A | |
Republican | Other Write-in | 21,436 | nil | N/A | |
Majority | 21,034 | 32.8 | −67.2 | ||
Turnout | 64,081 | −2.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | David Curson | 159,258 | 48.4 | N/A | |
Republican | Kerry Bentivolio | 151,736 | 46.1 | N/A | |
Libertarian | John J. Tatar | 11,606 | 3.5 | N/A | |
Constitution | Marc J. Sosnowski | 6,529 | 2.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 7,522 | 2.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 329,137 | N/A | |||
Democratic gain from Republican | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Kerry Bentivolio | 181,788 | 50.8 | −8.5 | |
Democratic | Syed Taj | 158,879 | 44.4 | +5.9 | |
Libertarian | John J. Tatar | 9,637 | 2.7 | nil | |
Green | Stephen Paul Duke | 4,569 | 1.3 | +1.3 | |
Natural Law | Daniel Johnson | 3,251 | 0.9 | +0.9 | |
Independent | Total Write-In | 15 | nil | ||
Majority | 22,909 | 6.4% | −14.4 | ||
Turnout | 358,139 | +50.8 | |||
Republican hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | David Trott | 42,008 | 66.4 | N/A | |
Republican | Kerry Bentivolio (I) | 21,254 | 33.6 | −32.7 | |
Majority | 20,754 | 32.8 | 0.0 | ||
Turnout | 63,262 | −1.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | David Trott | 140,435 | 55.9 | +5.1 | |
Democratic | Bobby McKenzie | 101,681 | 40.5 | −3.9 | |
Libertarian | John J. Tatar | 7,711 | 3.1 | +0.4 | |
Republican | Kerry Bentivolio (I) (write-in) | 1,411 | 0.6 | −50.2 | |
Majority | 38,754 | 15.4% | +9.0 | ||
Turnout | 251,238 | −29.8 | |||
Republican hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | David Trott | 200,226 | 52.9 | {{{change}}} | |
Democratic | Anil Kumar | 152.019 | 40.2 | ||
Independent | Kerry Bentivolio | 16,543 | 4.4 | ||
Libertarian | Jonathan Ray Osment | 9,516 | 2.5 | ||
Turnout | 378,304 | {{{change}}} | |||
Republican hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Lena Epstein | 26,843 | 30.9 | |
Republican | Rocky Raczkowski | 22,140 | 25.5 | |
Republican | Mike Kowall | 15,984 | 18.4 | |
Republican | Klint Kesto | 12,164 | 14.0 | |
Republican | Kerry Bentivolio | 9,799 | 11.3 | |
Total votes | 86,930 | 100 |
Michael J. Rogers is an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 8th congressional district from 2001 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from 2011 to 2015.
Frederick Stephen Upton is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1987 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Kalamazoo and much of southwestern Michigan for 18 terms before retiring in 2023.
Thaddeus George McCotter is an American politician, radio host, and a member of the Republican Party. He was the U.S. Representative from Michigan's 11th congressional district from 2003 to 2012. The district at the time consisted of portions of Detroit's northwestern suburbs, such as Livonia, Westland and Novi. He was also a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in the 2012 election.
Michigan's 11th congressional district is a United States congressional district north of Detroit, comprising most of urbanized central Oakland County. Until 1993, the district covered the state's Upper Peninsula and the northernmost portion of the Lower Peninsula. In redistricting that year, it was shifted to the outer Detroit area. Its former geographical area is now the state's first district. Its current configuration dates from 2023.
Brenda Lawrence is an American retired politician who served as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 14th congressional district from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Lawrence served as mayor of Southfield, Michigan, from 2001 to 2015, and was the party's nominee for Oakland County executive in 2008 and for lieutenant governor in 2010. Her congressional district covered most of eastern Detroit, including downtown, and stretched west to take in portions of Oakland County, including Farmington Hills, Pontiac, and Lawrence's home in Southfield.
Elections were held on November 2, 2010, to determine Michigan's 15 members of the United States House of Representatives. Representatives were elected for two-year terms to serve in the 112th United States Congress from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. Primary elections were held on August 3, 2010.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 6, 2012. It coincided with the reelection of President Barack Obama. Elections were held for all 435 seats representing the 50 U.S. states and also for the delegates from the District of Columbia and five major U.S. territories. The winners of this election cycle served in the 113th United States Congress. This was the first congressional election using districts drawn up based on the 2010 United States census.
Daniel Joseph Benishek was an American physician and politician who served three terms as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 1st congressional district from 2011 to 2017. He was a member of the Republican Party.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the 14 U.S. representatives from the state of Michigan, a decrease of one following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate. Primary elections were held on August 7, 2012. The filing deadline for candidates to file to run in the primary was May 15. Except for two seats, all the incumbents sought re-election. The open seats were the 5th and 11th congressional districts. Due to the loss of one seat from the 2010 census, two congressmen ran against each other.
U.S. Representative Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan unsuccessfully sought the Republican Party's 2012 nomination for president of the United States. He announced his intention to run when he filed papers with the Federal Election Commission on July 1, 2011, and officially declared his candidacy the next day at a rock festival near Detroit.
The 2012 special election in Michigan's 11th congressional district was a special election that took place in Michigan on November 6, 2012, to replace Republican United States Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, who resigned after a failed presidential campaign and a series of scandals. Former autoworker David Curson, the Democratic nominee, narrowly defeated Republican nominee Kerry Bentivolio, a reindeer farmer, to win the seat for the last few months of McCotter's term.
Michigan's 11th congressional district election was held on November 6, 2012, for a seat in the 113th United States Congress alongside a presidential election, other elections to the United States House of Representatives and elections for class I of the United States Senate. In Michigan, all of the state's 14 congressional seats were at stake. Michigan's junior United States Senator Debbie Stabenow is running for re-election. Additionally, all 110 seats in the Michigan House of Representatives were at stake.
David Alan Curson was an American union representative and politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 11th congressional district. He is known for having one of the shortest terms in congressional history. Curson defeated Kerry Bentivolio in a special election to replace former Representative Thaddeus McCotter, who resigned in the summer of 2012, and served less than two months. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Curson was a representative for the United Auto Workers.
The 2014 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Michigan were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the 14 members of the U.S. House of Representatives from the state of Michigan, one from each of the state's 14 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including the election of Michigan's governor, as well as the Class 2 U.S. Senate Seat.
David Alan Trott is an American attorney and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 11th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the 14 U.S. representatives from the state of Michigan, one from each of the state's 14 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate in 33 other states and various state and local elections. The deadline for candidates to file for the August 2 primary election was April 19.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the 14 U.S. representatives from the state of Michigan, one from each of the state's 14 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other offices, including a gubernatorial election, other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The filing deadline for candidates filing for the August 7 primary was April 24, 2018. Unless otherwise indicated, the Cook Political Report rated the congressional races as safe for the party of the incumbent.
Haley Maria Stevens is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 11th congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Stevens represents most of urbanized Oakland County, including many of Detroit's northern suburbs.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the 14 U.S. representatives from the state of Michigan, one from each of the state's 14 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. Party primaries were held on August 4, 2020. The Michigan delegation prior to the election consisted of seven Democrats, six Republicans and one Libertarian. Unless otherwise indicated, the Cook Political Report rated the races as safe for the party of the incumbents.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan were held on November 8, 2022, to elect representatives for the thirteen seats in Michigan. The deadline for candidates to file for the August 2 primary was April 19. The congressional makeup prior to the election was seven Democrats and seven Republicans. However, after the 2020 census, Michigan lost one congressional seat. Democrats won a majority of seats in the state for the first time since 2008. This can be partly attributed to the decrease in the number of districts, which resulted in two Republican incumbents – Bill Huizenga and Fred Upton – in the new 4th district. Redistricting also played a part in shifting partisan lean of the districts which favored the Democrats overall, including in the 3rd district, which Democrats were able to flip with a margin of victory of 13 points. That was made possible by a non-partisan citizens' commission drawing the new political boundaries instead of the Michigan legislature after a 2018 ballot proposal was approved.