James Lower
James Lower (Republican Party) was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 70. He assumed office in 2017. He left office on January 1, 2021.
Lower (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 3rd Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on August 4, 2020.
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Lower was assigned to the following committees:
- Health Policy Committee
- Local Government and Municipal Finance Committee, Chair
- Energy Committee
- Tax Policy Committee, Majority Vice Chair
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Michigan committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Communications and Technology |
| • Energy Policy |
| • Local Government, Chair |
| • Tax Policy |
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
2020
See also: Michigan's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020
Michigan's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Democratic primary)
Michigan's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020 (August 4 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Michigan District 3
Peter Meijer defeated Hillary Scholten, Richard Fuentes, and Shannon Hogan in the general election for U.S. House Michigan District 3 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Peter Meijer (R) | 53.0 | 213,649 |
 | Hillary Scholten (D) | 47.0 | 189,769 | |
 | Richard Fuentes (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 1 | |
| Shannon Hogan (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Total votes: 403,419 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Justin Amash (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 3
Hillary Scholten advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 3 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Hillary Scholten | 100.0 | 65,008 |
| Total votes: 65,008 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Cathy Albro (D)
- Nick Colvin (D)
- Doug Booth (D)
- Amanda Le'Anne Brunzell (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 3
Peter Meijer defeated Lynn Afendoulis, Tom Norton, Joe Farrington, and Emily Rafi in the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 3 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Peter Meijer | 50.2 | 47,273 |
 | Lynn Afendoulis | 26.1 | 24,579 | |
 | Tom Norton | 15.8 | 14,913 | |
| Joe Farrington | 4.2 | 3,966 | |
| Emily Rafi | 3.7 | 3,462 | |
| Total votes: 94,193 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Andrew Jackson Willis (R)
- James Lower (R)
- Joel Langlois (R)
2018
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2018
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 70
Incumbent James Lower defeated Kresta Train in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 70 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | James Lower (R) | 61.6 | 17,870 |
| Kresta Train (D) | 38.4 | 11,130 | |
| Total votes: 29,000 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 70
Kresta Train advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 70 on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kresta Train | 100.0 | 4,312 |
| Total votes: 4,312 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 70
Incumbent James Lower advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 70 on August 7, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | James Lower | 100.0 | 8,008 |
| Total votes: 8,008 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
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 Rick Outman (R) did not seek re-election because of term-limits.
James Lower defeated Ken Hart and Michael Anderson in the Michigan House of Representatives District 70 general election.[1]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 70 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  James Lower |
63.24% | 21,001 | |
| Democratic | Ken Hart | 31.99% | 10,625 | |
| Green | Michael Anderson | 4.77% | 1,584 | |
| Total Votes | 33,210 | |||
| Source: Michigan Secretary of State | ||||
Ken Hart ran unopposed in the Michigan House of Representatives District 70 Democratic primary.[2][3]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 70 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Ken Hart (unopposed) | |
The following candidates ran in the Michigan House of Representatives District 70 Republican primary.[2][3]
| Michigan House of Representatives, District 70 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | James Lower |
44.76% | 4,154 | |
| Republican | Gregory Alexander | 6.82% | 633 | |
| Republican | L. Charles Mulholland | 13.86% | 1,286 | |
| Republican | Jeremy Putansu | 3.27% | 303 | |
| Republican | Dale Reyburn | 11.71% | 1,087 | |
| Republican | Michael Van Kleeck | 19.58% | 1,817 | |
| Total Votes | 9,280 | |||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
James Lower did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Lower's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[4]
| “ | Pro-Life
Jim is 100% pro-life. He is endorsed by Right to Life of Michigan. He has a strong track record of Pro-Life accomplishments. Pro-Jobs Jim believes the government has a role to play in creating jobs. That role is to create laws and policies that encourage economic growth in our communities and our state. That does not mean handing out corporate welfare, it means creating a playing field and an environment where companies can be successful and provide good paying jobs. 'Pro-Second Amendment Jim is a lifetime member of the NRA. He has held a concealed pistol license for many years. He is the only candidate endorsed by the NRA! Jim will be a strong defender of our right to keep and bear arms. Pro-Family Values Jim is a strong supporter of family values. He believes parents, not the government, should play the dominant role in the education and upbringing of their children. Honesty, integrity, and doing the right thing even when no one is looking are values Jim and his family live by. “We the People” must be in charge of our own government Jim wants to represent the people of Montcalm and Gratiot counties to the best of his ability. This means being accessible and listening to their ideas and concerns. New technology has made it easier than ever for people to connect with their elected leaders. While they may not always agree on every issue, Jim wants the 70th District to know he is listening.[5] |
” |
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 Michigan scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2020
In 2020, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 8 to December 31.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on labor issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to agriculture.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 9 through December 31.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2018, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 10 through December 31.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2017, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 11 through December 31.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Michigan State Legislature was in session from January 13 through December 31.
|
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 official general election results," accessed May 2, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Candidate Listing," accessed April 22, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michigan Secretary of State, "2016 Michigan Election Results," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ Vote Lower, "Issues," accessed October 17, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rick Outman (R) |
Michigan House of Representatives District 70 2017-2020 |
Succeeded by Pat Outman (R) |
