Former Reps. Courser, Gamrat defeated in comeback tries

LANSING — Two former Republican state representatives who lost their seats in September amid a sex and cover-up scandal were soundly defeated Tuesday in their special primary bids to regain their seats.

Cindy Gamrat of Plainwell was defeated Tuesday in her bid to regain her Allegan County state House seat by Mary Whiteford of South Haven.

And former state representative Todd Courser, who admitted to having an extramarital affair with Gamrat and misusing state House resources in an attempt to cover it up, also lost his bid to win his seat back after resigning in September while facing expulsion from the House. Republican Gary Howell won the Republican primary.

In the Gamrat race, Whiteford was declared the victor in the Republican primary in the conservative district. With 90% of precincts reporting, Gamrat was in third place with only 9.3% of the vote, while Whiteford led with 52% and Jim Storey was next with 24%, according to unofficial results posted by the Allegan County clerk's office. Gamrat conceded at about 9:15 p.m., according to local media reports.

"Cherry on top for politicians and special interest groups tonight," Gamrat, who opposed tax or fee increases, posted on her Facebook page about the road funding deal passed by the Legislature, after the results of her race were known.

Whiteford is a state committee member who has served as vice chair of the Allegan County Republican Party. In 2014, she lost the GOP nomination in the 80th House District to Gamrat. Earlier this year, she was defeated in her bid for Republican National Committeewoman by Kathy Berden of Sanilac County.

“I look forward to being a strong, credible, conservative voice for Allegan County and taking our message into the general election,” said Whiteford.

She will face Democrat David Gernant in the general election.

• Wayne County voting results

• Oakland County voting results

• Macomb County voting results

• Outstate voting results

In the Courser race, with all precincts reporting, Courser finished in 6th place with less than 4% of the votes, while the top vote-getter, Howell, had about 26%, according to unofficial results posted on the Lapeer County website.

Howell, of North Branch, is a retired lawyer who served as municipal attorney for Imlay City, Almont, Dryden, and other local governments. He has served as a school trustee and a county road commissioner.

Guerrero DeLuca won the Democratic primary for the Courser seat.

In a third state House primary Tuesday to help choose a successor to former state Rep. Brandon Dillon of Grand Rapids, who resigned to become chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, attorney David LaGrand won easily over fellow Democrat Michael Scruggs, with 94% of precincts reporting, Wood TV reported. LaGrand had 81% of the vote, compared to 19% for Scruggs.

LaGrand is a former Grand Rapids city commissioner and a current school board member.

The winners of the primaries will compete in special general elections on March 8.

Gamrat and Courser, two freshman Republican tea party lawmakers who espouse traditional family values, admitted to having an extramarital affair and misusing state House resources to try to cover it up. Each is married with children.

In one of the most bizarre political stories in Lansing history, Courser admitted to sending out an anonymous phony e-mail accusing himself of having gay sex behind a Lansing nightclub and being a "porn-addicted sex deviant." Courser, while unsuccessfully trying to persuade a House staffer to circulate the e-mail, described his strategy as a "controlled burn" that would make any reports of an extramarital affair less plausible, according to audio tapes secretly recorded by a former staffer.

Courser, an attorney, resigned Sept. 11 while facing expulsion from the House. Gamrat was expelled the same day. Both then opted to run to try to get their seats back.

Though political observers said it was unlikely voters would return either Courser or Gamrat to the Capitol, the crowded Republican primary fields result in a level of uncertainty.

There are 11 candidates in Courser’s district in Michigan’s Thumb region and eight for Gamrat’s seat in southwest Michigan. There are also three Democrats running in the 82nd House district, which Courser represented, and one Democrat running in the 80th House district, formerly represented by Gamrat.

Political action committees for business groups and legislative leaders are throwing their financial support behind the candidates who finished second to Courser and Gamrat in the 2014 primaries — nurse Jan Peabody and Whiteford — along with Howell, a candidate in the Courser race. Another candidate who has raised money is Jim Storey, who is running for Gamrat’s seat.

An education policy group with ties to one of the state’s Republican mega-donors has mailed advertisements attacking Courser and Gamrat for misusing public resources to cover up the affair.

Courser has said he sent the e-mail out of desperation. He accused former aides of conspiring with a blackmailer and GOP leadership in a “political hit” against him.

The staffers have filed a whistle-blower and libel/slander lawsuit against Courser and Gamrat.

The other special primary election was held to fill the House seat in the 75th District that was left vacant by Dillon, who resigned in August to become chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party.

Two Democrats and one Republican, Blake Edmonds, were on the ballot in that race.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. The Associated Press contributed to this report.