UPDATE: This article has been updated to add more comments from lawmakers.

LANSING, MI - Michigan House Republicans appear to be keeping their faith in Speaker Jase Bolger, despite his role in an embarrassing scheme related to a west Michigan House district.

Bolger, R-Marshall, apologized to voters and said he's disappointed in himself after participating in a political scheme related to Grand Rapids state Rep. Roy Schmidt's switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party at a May candidate filing deadline.

Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth, in a report released this week, wrote that the scheme by Schmidt and Bolger was "clearly designed to undermine the election and to perpetrate a 'fraud' on the electorate." But the scheme was legal, Forsyth wrote, and no criminal charges were filed. Forsyth is forwarding information to state election officials so they can determine if any campaign finance violations occurred.

Some Democrats quickly called for Bolger to step down as leader of the House. Bolger said he isn’t going to step down, and his Republican colleagues – who hold the majority in the House – appear to support that decision.

While disappointed in the sketchier details of the Schmidt political party switch, Republicans say they still believe Bolger is effective as their leader headed into the heart of the 2012 election season. Republicans are seeking to maintain their majority over Democrats in the House.

“I think he’s got the support of the caucus,” said Rep. Pete Lund, R-Shelby Township. “I will continue to support him.”

Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, agreed.

“I have the same level of confidence in him,” McMillin said of Bolger.

But McMillin said he was "very disappointed" in some elements of the incident. And Rep. Ken Yonker, R-Caledonia, told Gongwer News Service this week that Bolger in this instance "made a mistake." But that mistake is not enough of a reason for Bolger to step down as speaker, Yonker told Gongwer, adding that he feels Bolger has done an excellent job as speaker.

Republicans said they are pleased with Bolger’s leadership role in stabilizing the state budget and what they consider laying the groundwork for an economic recovery in Michigan. Lund said Bolger has been an “outstanding leader” and will continue to be one.

Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics and a former Republican lawmaker , says House Republicans aren't going to dump Bolger as their leader in the aftermath of this week's controvery.

“Forget about it,” Ballenger said. “That’s not going to happen.”

But Ballenger said Bolger “absolutely botched” the Schmidt party switch and must stop making mistakes if he plans to remain effective.

Bolger lived a “charmed life” in his first year-and-a-half leading the House, Ballenger said, but has now been hurt by back-to-back embarrassments.

Last month, Republican leadership imposed a one-day House floor speaking ban on two Democrats for their roles in a debate about a sweeping anti-abortion bill. Republicans said Reps. Lisa Brown and Barb Byrum violated House rules for professionalism and decorum. But Democrats turned it into a campaign issue, claiming it was part of what they call a Republican “war on women.”

The report on Schmidt’s political party switch, and Bolger’s role in it, was a second blow. The scheme included a mangled attempt to line up a sham Democratic candidate and leave Schmidt with an easy path to victory in November.

Ballenger says it would take more than those incidents for Republicans to turn on Bolger.

“Something else bad would have to happen,” Ballenger said. “But he’s got to stop the hemorrhaging. Enough already.”

Email Tim Martin at tmartin4@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TimMartinMI