Michael LaPierre
Michael LaPierre (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District. He was disqualified from the Republican primary scheduled on June 11, 2024.
LaPierre completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Michael LaPierre was born in Portland, Maine. He earned a bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1983 and a master's degree from Clemson University in 2016. LaPierre's career experience includes working as an entrepreneur, author, corporate executive, strategist, and professional athlete.[1][2]
Elections
2024
See also: South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024
South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 11 Republican primary)
South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 11 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 3
Sheri Biggs defeated Bryon Best and Michael Bedenbaugh in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 3 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sheri Biggs (R) | 71.7 | 248,451 | |
| Bryon Best (D) | 25.3 | 87,735 | ||
| Michael Bedenbaugh (Alliance Party) | 2.9 | 9,918 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 609 | ||
| Total votes: 346,713 | ||||
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Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for U.S. House South Carolina District 3
Sheri Biggs defeated Mark Burns in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House South Carolina District 3 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sheri Biggs | 51.0 | 28,156 | |
| Mark Burns | 49.0 | 27,064 | ||
| Total votes: 55,220 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 3
Bryon Best defeated Frances Guldner in the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 3 on June 11, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Bryon Best | 62.4 | 5,188 | |
| Frances Guldner | 37.6 | 3,129 | ||
| Total votes: 8,317 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Daniel Duncan (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 3
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 3 on June 11, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mark Burns | 33.2 | 27,069 | |
| ✔ | Sheri Biggs | 28.8 | 23,523 | |
| Stewart Jones | 18.7 | 15,260 | ||
| Kevin Bishop | 11.0 | 8,972 | ||
| Franky Franco | 4.3 | 3,494 | ||
| Elspeth Snow Murday | 2.1 | 1,754 | ||
| Philip Healy | 1.9 | 1,552 | ||
| Total votes: 81,624 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Andrew Adams (R)
- Jeff Duncan (R)
- Michael LaPierre (R)
- Patrick Orr (R)
Alliance Party convention
Alliance Party convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 3
Michael Bedenbaugh advanced from the Alliance Party convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 3 on April 20, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Michael Bedenbaugh (Alliance Party) | |
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for LaPierre in this election.
Pledges
LaPierre signed the following pledges.
2022
See also: South Carolina's 4th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 4
Incumbent William Timmons defeated Lee Turner in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 4 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | William Timmons (R) | 90.8 | 165,607 | |
| Lee Turner (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 9.2 | 16,758 | ||
| Total votes: 182,365 | ||||
| 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
- Ken Hill (D)
- Michael Chandler (Constitution Party)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Ken Hill advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 4.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Justin Bennett (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 4
Incumbent William Timmons defeated Mark Burns, Michael LaPierre, and George Abuzeid in the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 4 on June 14, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | William Timmons | 52.7 | 24,800 | |
| Mark Burns | 23.8 | 11,214 | ||
| Michael LaPierre | 17.1 | 8,029 | ||
| George Abuzeid | 6.4 | 3,024 | ||
| Total votes: 47,067 | ||||
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Constitution convention
Constitution convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 4
Michael Chandler advanced from the Constitution convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 4 on March 26, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Michael Chandler (Constitution Party) | |
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Endorsements
To view LaPierre's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
2020
See also: United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2020
United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)
United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. Senate South Carolina
Incumbent Lindsey Graham defeated Jaime Harrison and Bill Bledsoe (Unofficially withdrew) in the general election for U.S. Senate South Carolina on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Lindsey Graham (R) | 54.4 | 1,369,137 | |
| Jaime Harrison (D) | 44.2 | 1,110,828 | ||
| Bill Bledsoe (Constitution Party) (Unofficially withdrew) | 1.3 | 32,845 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 2,294 | ||
| Total votes: 2,515,104 | ||||
| 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
- Keenan Dunham (L)
- David Weikle (L)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Jaime Harrison advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate South Carolina.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Justin Wooton (D)
- Gloria Bromell Tinubu (D)
- Matthew Knights (D)
- William Stone (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate South Carolina
Incumbent Lindsey Graham defeated Michael LaPierre, Joe Reynolds, and Duke Buckner in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate South Carolina on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Lindsey Graham | 67.7 | 317,512 | |
| Michael LaPierre | 17.0 | 79,932 | ||
| Joe Reynolds | 9.2 | 43,029 | ||
| Duke Buckner | 6.1 | 28,570 | ||
| Total votes: 469,043 | ||||
| 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
- Johnny Garcia (R)
- Peggy Kandies (R)
- Carey Wilson (R)
- Mark Sloan (R)
Constitution convention
Constitution convention for U.S. Senate South Carolina
Bill Bledsoe advanced from the Constitution convention for U.S. Senate South Carolina on January 11, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Bill Bledsoe (Constitution Party) | |
| 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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Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael LaPierre completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by LaPierre's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Michael LaPierre - LIFE EXPERIENCES THAT MATTER
Our family has been richly blessed.
- Married 40 years to the same wonderful woman (Calie)
- Father of three adult children and grandfather to six beautiful children
- Avid hunter and gun rights activist
- Former professional baseball player (minor leagues)
- Small businessman (Equestrian Farmer - Pickens, SC)
- NRA Lifetime Member
- Corporate Executive (Director Fortune 50 - $93 Billion Company; VP Sales Fortune 500...$12 Billion Company)
- Servant Deacon at several Baptist Churches
- Founder/President - Christian Leadership Worldview International
- Founder - Christian Chamber of Commerce (Pickens, SC Chapter)
- Advanced USA - Ambassador (Congressional Christian Advocacy Group, Washington, DC)
- Anderson University - Board of Visitors
- SWU Business School Advisory Board (Southern Wesleyan)
- Brown University Graduate (B.A.'s - Political Science & Business)
- Clemson University M.B.A. (Entrepreneurship & Innovation)
- Author (6 Books - The Christian Leader's Worldview; The Goldmine; God's Gift of Imagination; A Covenant; The Elephant Brief; A Patriot Manifesto)
- Candidate for U.S. Senate 2020 (I ran against Lindsey Graham in the Republican Party Primary)
-Candidate for U.S. House- I’m the only candidate who work to implement the following policies:
-Mandate the death penalty for drug, human, and sex traffickers at the border.
-Introduce a formal declaration of war on the Mexican cartels.
-Establish a militarized “No Entry Zone.” (N.E.Z.)
-Suspend all asylum applications and direct the applicants to other, friendly nations that have been recipients of US foreign aid for decades.
-End the H1B and other worker visa programs so employers here are forced to train and hire Americans.
-Allow employers to prioritize hiring US citizens (which is currently illegal).
While other candidates pretend to be conservatives, I’m the only one who will take a hard line against the threats to our country and our state today. - My platform will be "RECLAIMING AMERICA WITHOUT FEAR" bringing our country back to its founding principles where the love of God, family, church, and country is our hope for a brighter tomorrow.
- MARXISM · Institutionalized Marxism will destroy America · The spiritual lifeblood of our nation will be severed · A totalitarian form of government will eventually ensue · Individual freedoms will be gone · We must inspire others to get involved and fight for our ideals.
We support life
Fight to secure our borders, declare war on the Mexican drug cartels, build a complete wall, and deport all illegal aliens
Fight to protect the fundamentals of capitalism and a free market economy
We will support all efforts to STOP WOKE indoctrination in all of its derivative forms
Fight to make sure we have LEGAL immigration
We will support efforts that rebuild American families and the spiritual vibrancy of our country
We support efforts that eliminate all forms of Marxism, Communism, and Socialism
I am a former business executive who specializes in Christian leadership training and development. I have had the privilege over a 32 year business career to work with top tier companies spanning a range from Fortune 50 to Fortune 500 organizations.
A former minor league baseball player, my executive experiences include VP Sales, Global Strategist, Director of Sales & Marketing, Director Sales Strategy, entrepreneur, church servant/deacon, and community leader. I have a diverse executive background with nonprofit experiences that have allowed me to gain a comprehensive understanding of the principles of leadership development.
Those broad experiences include leadership positions with UPS, Arnold Industries, Lily Transportation, and Roadway Express. I am the founder and current President of Christian Leadership Worldview International.
Taking baby steps, working for incremental gains, and using a "care giver approach" are NOT the right policy solutions at this point in time.
For far too long we have tried to maintain a balance between playing defense, bipartisan governance, and going on the offensive. I believe right now is the time to take the fight to the progressive leftist Marxists on our shores. Incremental gains no longer cut the mustard. We need to defend our Constitution and stop the erosion of our founding principles and moral standing.
As a result of Joe Biden and his Marxist-leaning government, in cities across America we are experiencing the incendiary impact of those who are trying to overthrow our form of government, storming our buildings, trashing our monuments, and burning our buildings to the ground in route to their Marxist and Socialist Democrat utopian and fairy story gatherings. This is NOT the American Dream that I signed up for and as your S.C. District 3 U.S. Congressman, I will use every political weapon at my disposal to STOP the spread of its evil and perverse ideology!
Political leadership is all about the virtues, integrity, and pragmatism found in a statesman.
We need statesmen and stateswomen who have the intestinal fortitude to sound the alarms, effectively communicate, extensively educate, and ALWAYS tell their constituents the facts about what needs to be said and done.
Politicians will NEVER say and do the things that need to be said and done for fear of not being elected.
President Donald Trump has paved the way in this regard.
-Our ability to harness the worldwide aggression of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will be a significant challenge.
-Our ability to combat the march of Marxism, Socialism, and WOKISM will be a significant challenge.
-Our ability to reorient our thinking back to our Founding Fathers ideals and expect an originalist interpretation of our Constitution will be a significant challenge.
Acute and pressure filled competition breeds better results. Two years is perfect.
• We need an amendment to our Constitution to include term limits for House and Senate
• Unelected public officials should reapply every four years to their positions
• Curtail the flow of money between elected officials and lobbyists
• Curtail the flow of money between elected politicians
• Institute overall campaign finance reform
FULL COMMENTARY:
American citizens must do everything that we can to curb the excesses of political power with our elected officials, lobbyists, and those unelected officials who work in national government. Based on this belief, I believe that U.S. Senators, House members, and those unelected officials should be limited in the number of terms they serve (Senate and House) and/or reapply to their offices for those in unelected capacities.
I do not believe for a second that our Founding Fathers would have ever imagined the corrupt power bases and alliances created in our current system of government. Many elected officials will do and say anything to hold and maintain power at the expense of our country’s well-being.
It is this selfish motivation towards public service that has created such an unfavorable view of Congress and the administrative state. What I do believe is that our Founders envisioned a system of government full of virtue and righteous decision-making that helps tamp down the baser instincts of mankind and flawed motivations of greedy politicians.
Right now, we have a system of government that encourages and incentivizes the wrong kind of behavior. We need an amendment to our Constitution that drives the right kind of behavior. I believe that term limits is the answer:
• Senators – Maximum of two 6-year terms
• House – Maximum of six 2-year terms
• Unelected Administrative Positions – Must reapply every four years to the position
The opposite of this approach leads politicians to compromise their core personal values and beliefs for the sake of making a deal. Unfortunately, in many respects (not all), the political world that we operate in is a space that is VOID of morality, common human decency, and standards of excellence that can only be derived from our maker.
As a result of this VOID, we see well-intentioned Senators and House members experiencing the fallout and poison of political drift. The political drift I am talking about happens as a result of institutional norms (the administrative deep state) that generate behavior and expectations misaligned with moral and biblical standards. In other words, our elected officials lose sight of why they were elected to their respective positions in the first place. They start DRIFTING from their previously held core values and lose sight of their citizens back home.
There are many good men and women who go to Washington with the zeal and energy to conquer the world, however, over time become conditioned and callous to worldly ideas and secular decision-making.
We are approaching another devastating bubble in American and it is because of the Socialist spending spree that the Biden Administration has engaged in.
They devised a system of government with checks and balances to counteract those unrighteous thoughts and behaviors.
Corruption in politics at the local, state, and federal levels is much like a fast-spreading cancer that is ready to consume and destroy the body. The cancer of corruption must be rooted out, and there is no time to wait. Like cancer destroying the lifeblood of the physical body, so corruption destroys the lifeblood of the body politic. We should never tolerate any hint of wrongdoing in the public sphere.
Leaders and citizens of this country must be willing to combat the forces of evil in our government without hesitation. If we fail to enforce the rule of law in the political domain, we are consenting to behavior that is out of touch with the vision of our Founding Fathers.
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.
2022
Michael LaPierre completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by LaPierre's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Reclaiming America - Fighting Against Marxism & CRT
- Fighting Political Corruption
- Work tirelessly to overturn Roe v. Wade and protect life
· Work tirelessly to overturn Roe v. Wade
· Oppose all forms of legislation that are aimed at controlling our guns and limiting our right to bear arms and the right to due process under the law
· Drive and support legislation that will help South Carolinians thrive economically
· Propose and support all legislation that removes regulatory barriers and unnecessary red tape
· Support a Constitutional Amendment that defines marriage between a man and a woman
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.
2020
Michael LaPierre completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by LaPierre's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Work tirelessly to overturn Roe v. Wade and protect life
- Oppose all forms of legislation that are aimed at controlling our guns and limiting our right to bear arms and the right to due process under the law
- Limit myself to 2 terms and propose legislation for term limits at the congressional level that will help diminish the influence of lobbyists, professional political operatives, and other institution bureaucrats who are more concerned with power than they are with laws that promote the general welfare of our state and country
· Oppose all forms of legislation that are aimed at controlling our guns and limiting our right to bear arms and the right to due process under the law
· Drive and support legislation that will help South Carolinians thrive economically
· Propose and support all legislation that removes regulatory barriers and unnecessary red tape
· Support a Constitutional Amendment that defines marriage between a man and a woman
· Advocate for an educational system that brings primary responsibility back to the state level through strategic initiatives including vouchers, ESA accounts, tax credits, and private school choice
· Limit myself to 2 terms and propose legislation for term limits at the congressional level that will help diminish the influence of lobbyists, professional political operatives, and other institution bureaucrats who are more concerned with power than they are with laws that promote the general welfare of our state and country
· Donate a majority of my salary to charity and other nonprofit institutions in order to take a leadership position on this issue and set the tone for future elected Senators from South Carolina and beyond
· Refuse the elite health care program offered to U.S. Senators and maintain my current middle class participant "share program"
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
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
