Michigan's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2014
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November 4, 2014 |
August 5, 2014 |
Justin Amash |
Justin Amash |
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Cook Political Report: Solid R[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R[2] |
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The 3rd Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Cook Political Reports listed Michigan's 3rd Congressional District as a "Safe Republican" seat in 2014. Incumbent Justin Amash (R) defeated general election challengers Bob Goodrich (D) and Tonya Duncan (G).
Goodrich ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Duncan, of the Green Party, successfully filed for candidacy and was the only third party candidate in this election. The Grand Rapids Press Editorial Board endorsed Amash as the favorite candidate due to his maturity and experience in Washington and that Goodrich ran a weaker campaign in comparison.[3] Amash maintained a financial advantage on both challenging candidates with having over $700,000 cash on hand since July.[4]
Reports from the October Quarterly showed Amash and Goodrich receiving about the same amount in contributions. Amash was able to receive most of his contributions through donations from local grassroots organizations. The majority of Goodrich's funds came from him his own personal wealth, but he stated he was not denied donations. "There are many committed and sincere candidates, and I didn't want to draw from contributors who are looking to give (to candidates in) the state race, senate race or on the statewide ticket," Goodrich said. "If I get the financial support, it comes at the expense of someone else."[5]
Although the seat is expected to remain in Republican control, Rep. Justin Amash first had to advance past a primary challenge from Brian Ellis who stated on his website that he challenged Amash because "Amash regularly votes with President Obama’s position and against conservative solutions."[6] Despite Ellis receiving some key endorsements, including former Rep. Pete Hoekstra and the Michigan Fraternal Order of Police, Amash received endorsements and financial backing from Club for Growth and FreedomWorks. The primary garnered some attention, but the polls showed Amash in a strong lead, which proved correct on election night.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
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Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Michigan utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[7]<[8]
Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters must have registered by June 7, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 6, 2014.[9]
- See also: Michigan elections, 2014
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Justin Amash (R), who was first elected in 2010.
Michigan's 3rd Congressional District is located in the western region of the lower peninsula of Michigan and includes the city of Grand Rapids. It includes Ionia, Barry, and Calhoun counties and portions of Kent and Montcalm counties.[10]
Candidates
General election candidates
Justin Amash - Incumbent
Bob Goodrich
Tonya Duncan
August 5, 2014, primary results
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Elections
General election results
The 3rd Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Justin Amash (R) defeated challengers Bob Goodrich (D) and Tonya Duncan (G) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Justin Amash Incumbent |
57.9% | 125,754 | |
| Democratic | Bob Goodrich | 39% | 84,720 | |
| Green | Tonya Duncan | 3.1% | 6,691 | |
| Total Votes | 217,165 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State | ||||
Primary results
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Justin Amash Incumbent |
57.4% | 39,706 | ||
| Brian Ellis | 42.6% | 29,422 | ||
| Total Votes | 69,128 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State |
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Race background
The 2012 election race in Michigan's 3rd district was a close race, with Justin Amash securing victory with a 8.4 percent margin of victory. This district has become more competitive as a result of redistricting, with FairVote dropping the Republican edge from 8 percent to 6 percent.[12] Justin Amash, who spent $1,193,611, was out spent by his opponent, who spent $2,076,680, largely from extensive self-financing.[13]
Polls
| Michigan's 3rd District Republican Primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Justin Amash | Brian Ellis | Margin of Error | Sample Size | |||||||||||||||
| Strategic National (July 12-14, 2014) | 47% | 24% | +/-4.4 | 500 | |||||||||||||||
| EPIC-MRA (June 10-11, 2014) | 55% | 35% | +/-3.5 | 814 | |||||||||||||||
| Pratical Political Consulting (May 27-29, 2014) | 42% | 23% | +/-4.5 | 6,000 | |||||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org | |||||||||||||||||||
Media
In January 2014, the conservative Club for Growth purchased six-figures worth of radio time for an ad attacking Brian Ellis' tenure on the East Grand Rapids School Board and his position within Jennifer Granholm's administration.[14]
| "Fit Right In" |
Campaign contributions
Justin Amash
| Justin Amash (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[15] | April 15, 2013 | $77,843.52 | $124,307.31 | $(87,659.08) | $114,491.75 | ||||
| July Quarterly[16] | July 15, 2013 | $114,491.75 | $219,463.20 | $(169,535.80) | $164,419.15 | ||||
| October Quarterly[17] | October 15, 2013 | $164,419.15 | $207,884.69 | $(58,459.13) | $313,844.71 | ||||
| Year-End[18] | January 31, 2014 | $313,844.71 | $518,776.33 | $(100,743.15) | $731,877.89 | ||||
| April Quarterly[19] | April 15, 2014 | $731,877.89 | $224,593.18 | $(115,463.81) | $841,007.26 | ||||
| July Quarterly[20] | July 15, 2014 | $841,007.00 | $272,200.00 | $(311,994.00) | $801,487.00 | ||||
| October Quarterly[21] | October 15, 2014 | $768,967 | $139,633 | $(432,504) | $476,097 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,706,857.71 | $(1,276,358.97) | ||||||||
Brian Ellis
| Brian Ellis (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Year-End[22] | January 31, 2014 | $0 | $507,532.09 | $(168,577.54) | $338,954.55 | ||||
| April Quarterly[23] | April 15, 2014 | $338,954.55 | $322,109.55 | $(247,640.72) | $413,423.38 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $829,641.64 | $(416,218.26) | ||||||||
Bob Goodrich
| Bob Goodrich (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| July Quarterly | July 15, 2014 | $0.00 | $60,300.00 | $(58,862.00) | $1,437.00 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $60,300 | $(58,862) | ||||||||
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
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2012
The 3rd Congressional District of Michigan held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Justin Amash won re-election in the district.[24]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Pestka | 44.2% | 144,108 | |
| Republican | Justin Amash Incumbent |
52.6% | 171,675 | |
| Libertarian | Bill Gelineau | 3.2% | 10,498 | |
| Write-in | Steven Butler | 0% | 2 | |
| Total Votes | 326,283 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Justin Amash won election to the United States House. He defeated Pat Miles (D), James Rogers (L), Ted Gerrard (U.S. Taxpayers) and Charlie Shick (G) in the general election.[25]
| U.S. House, Michigan District 3 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Justin Amash |
59.7% | 133,714 | |
| Democratic | Pat Miles | 37.5% | 83,953 | |
| Libertarian | James Rogers | 1.2% | 2,677 | |
| U.S. Taxpayers | Ted Gerrard | 1% | 2,144 | |
| Green | Charlie Shick | 0.7% | 1,575 | |
| Total Votes | 224,063 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2014
- Justin Amash
- Bob Goodrich
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR JULY 26, 2014," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ MLive, "Editorial: Voters should send Amash back to Washington," October 19, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Report for Receipts and Disbursements," accessed October 6, 2014
- ↑ MLive, "Challenger Bob Goodrich largely self-funded as Rep. Justin Amash outperforms opponent," October 17, 2014
- ↑ Ellis 4 Congress, "Why I Am Running," accessed July 21, 2014
- ↑ NCSL,"State Primary Election Types," accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ Michigan.gov,"Questions and Answers: Michigan’s Presidential Primary," accessed October 7, 2024
- ↑ Michigan Department of State Website, "Registering to Vote: Step 2," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "GOP rival announces Justin Amash primary," accessed October 8, 2013
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Michigan," August 2014
- ↑ Open Secrets, "2012 Race: Michigan District 03," accessed August 2014
- ↑ Politico, "Club for Growth ads target Brian Ellis in Michigan," accessed January 22, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Justin Amash April Quarterly," accessed July 26, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Justin Amash July Quarterly," accessed July 26, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Justin Amash October Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Justin Amash Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Justin Amash April Quarterly," accessed April 21, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "October Quarterly," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Brian Ellis Year-End," accessed February 11, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Brian Ellis April Quarterly," accessed April 21, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Michigan," accessed November 3, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
