Rick Outman
Member of the Michigan Senate
from the 33rd district
Assumed office
January 1, 2019
Preceded byJudy Emmons
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 70th district
In office
January 1, 2011 – January 1, 2017
Preceded byMike Huckleberry
Succeeded byJim Lower
Personal details
Born (1963-12-15) December 15, 1963
Lakeview, Michigan
Political partyRepublican
RelativesPat Outman (son)

Rick Outman (born December 15, 1963) is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Since 2019, he has been a member of the Michigan Senate, elected from the 33rd Senate district. He was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, representing the 70th district, from 2011 to 2017. He was term limited out in 2017.

Early life, education, and business career

Outman was born on December 15, 1963, in Lakeview, Michigan.[1] He grew up in Montcalm County, Michigan. He received a bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University.[2] He is the owner and operator of Outman Excavating, a third-generation family business.[2][3] He formerly was a member of the U.S. Army and Army National Guard,[1][2] and a substitute teacher.[1]

Political career

State House

Outman unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Michigan House of Representatives in the 70th district in 2008.[4] He was defeated in the primary election, coming in fourth place among six candidates.[5] Thomas A. Ginster won the Republican nomination,[5] and was in turn defeated in the November 2008 general election by Mike Huckleberry, the first Democrat to hold the seat since 1932.[6] Outman ran again in 2010 and defeated Huckleberry.[7] Outman was elected to two additional terms in the state House,[2] in 2012 and 2014.[1] His campaign manager in 2012 and 2014 was James Lower, who in 2016 was elected to the state House from the 70th district, after Outman was term-limited out.[8]

In 2012, Outman voted in favor of a "right-to-work law" that barred labor unions from collecting fees from workers represented under collective bargaining agreements.[9] In 2013, he voted against Medicaid expansion bill, which passed on a 76–31 vote (original version) and then a 75–32 vote (final version).[10][11] Medicaid expansion was supported by almost every Democrat, but Republican members were split, with a little more than half voting no and the rest voting yes.[10] In 2014, Outman voted against a compromise bill to increase Michigan's minimum wage to $9.25 an hour by 2018. The bill passed the House on a 76–34 vote and the Senate on a 24–12 vote, and was signed into law by Governor Rick Snyder.[12]

State Senate

He was ineligible to run for reelection to the House in 2016 due to term limits, and was hired as a legislative staffer (district liaison) by Republican state Senator Judy Emmons at the end of 2016.[3] Emmons was ineligible to run for reelection to the Senate due to term limits.[3] In 2018, Outman won election to fill her state Senate seat.[1][3] The district is solidly Republican; Outman won the August 2018 Republican primary election with 72 percent of the vote, and won the 2018 general election by a margin of about 20 percentage points.[3] He took office in 2019.[2] Outman then hired Emmons to be his district liaison.[3]

Outman cosponsored, with Senator Marshall Bullock, bipartisan legislation to ban minors from using electronic cigarettes (vaping).[13]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan, Outman criticized Governor Gretchen Whitmer for coronavirus restrictions.[14]

In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump; Biden won by three percentage points in Michigan.[15][16] Trump subsequently launched an effort to overturn the election result and remain in power. In January 2021, Outman was one of 11 Republican Michigan state senators who promoted Trump's false claims of fraud in the 2020 election; in a letter sent to Congress on January 6, 2021, ahead of the formal counting of the electoral votes, Outman and the other members of the group baselessly suggested that there were "credible allegations of election-related concerns surrounding fraud and irregularities."[17]

As of 2022, Outman was chair of the Department of Health and Human Services sub-committee budget and the Environmental Quality Committee.[2]

Outman's 33rd state Senate district originally encompassed Montcalm, Clare, Gratiot, Isabella, and Mecosta counties. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, the district was redrawn to cover seven counties in West Michigan: all of Montcalm and Newaygo counties and portions of Kent, Ionia, Lake, Muskegon, and Ottawa counties. Outman is seeking reelection in 2022 in the new district.[2] During his campaign, he accused Whitmer of attempting "to centrally plan our society."[2]

Personal life

Outman lives in Six Lakes, Michigan.[18] He is married and has three children.[1] His son Pat Outman has been a member of the Michigan House since 2021, filling his father's old seat.[19][20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 State Senator RICK OUTMAN (R–33rd Senate District) (PDF) (2019-2020 ed.). Michigan Legislature. p. 160.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Michael Kransz, State Sen. Rick Outman seeks re-election in new district covering all or parts of 7 West Michigan counties, MLive (March 2, 2022).
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jonathan Oosting, Senator, aide switch jobs in Michigan Legislature, Detroit News (March 1, 2019).
  4. ↑ Married state rep candidate drops out after girlfriend gets pregnant, Chronicle News Service (July 26, 2008).
  5. 1 2 August 2008 official primary results, Michigan Secretary of State.
  6. ↑ Jim Harger, Huckleberry wins 70th state House seat -- first win by Democrat since 1932. MLive (November 2008).
  7. ↑ Matt Vande Bunte, Mike Huckleberry, Rick Outman to debate in Greenville, MLive (October 22, 2012).
  8. ↑ Emily Lawler, Meet Michigan's new state lawmakers, MLive (January 9, 2017).
  9. ↑ How Michigan lawmakers voted on right-to-work law, Associated Press (December 19, 2012).
  10. 1 2 Tim Martin, How they voted: Medicaid proposal splits Republicans in Michigan House, MLive (June 14, 2013).
  11. ↑ Jonathan Oosting, How they voted: Medicaid expansion wins final approval in Michigan House, MLive (September 3, 2013).
  12. ↑ Jonathan Oosting, How they voted: Michigan lawmakers approve, Snyder signs new $9.25 minimum wage law, MLive (May 28, 2014).
  13. ↑ David Eggert, Michigan Senate OKs state ban on e-cigarettes for minors, Associated Press (April 23, 2019).
  14. ↑ David Eggert, Michigan loosens virus limits for businesses, nursing homes, Associated Press (March 2, 2021).
  15. ↑ Craig Mauger, Donald Trump, pushing election claims, says, 'Michigan needs a new Legislature', Detroit News (November 15, 2021).
  16. ↑ Clara Hendrickson & Dave Boucher, Michigan Republican-led investigation rejects Trump's claim that Nov. 3 election was stolen, Detroit Free Press (June 23, 2021).
  17. ↑ More than half of Michigan's GOP senators air unfounded election concerns in letter to Congress, MLive (January 6, 2021).
  18. ↑ John Flesher, Whitmer releases $500 million water infrastructure plan, Associated Press (October 1, 2020).
  19. ↑ Lauren Gibbons, Who's new in the Michigan House of Representatives, MLive (January 5, 2021).
  20. ↑ Elisabeth Waldon, Following in his father's footsteps: Pat Outman announces candidacy for 70th District, Daily News (October 21, 2019).
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