Jacob "Jack" Hoogendyk ( ; born 31 July 1955) is an American businessman and Republican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, a former member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

and 2012 candidate for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

in Michigan.

Early life, education, and business career

Hoogendyk was born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

. He is of

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

ancestry. He worked as a manager with a

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

company. He joined Alternatives of Kalamazoo, Pregnancy Care Center as executive director in April 1996. In 2000, Hoogendyk was elected to the

Kalamazoo County Kalamazoo County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. , the population was 261,670. The county seat is Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo County is included in the Kalamazoo–Portage, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area. Etymology The nam ...

Board of Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States. A county usually has three to five ...

. Prior to that, he was on the Portage Zoning Board of Appeals and the Kalamazoo County Public Health Advisory Board.

Michigan House of Representatives

Elections

After redistricting, Jack ran for Michigan's 61st House District in 2002 and defeated Democrat James Houston 57%-43%. In 2004, he won re-election to a second term with 55% of the vote. In 2006, he won re-election to a third term with just 51% of the vote.

Tenure

Hoogendyk was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2002 representing the 61st district, which includes the cities of

Portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

and

Parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

, and the townships of

Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alam ...

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, Oshtemo, Prairie Ronde and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Hoogendyk is well known for his

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

views on taxes, government spending, family issues,

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

, and

affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...

. Hoogendyk has proposed making English the official language of the State of Michigan. He was twice rated the most conservative member of the Michigan House of Representatives. In 2006 Hoogendyk was one of a small group of conservatives to lead the fight against legislation to mandate that the state Department of Education administer to all sixth grade girls the vaccine

Gardasil Gardasil is an HPV vaccine for use in the prevention of certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). Text was copied from this source which is copyright European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledg ...

as a potential prevention against the risk of

Human papillomavirus Human papillomavirus infection (HPV infection) is caused by a DNA virus from the ''Papillomaviridae'' family. Many HPV infections cause no symptoms and 90% resolve spontaneously within two years. In some cases, an HPV infection persists and r ...

. Following the defeat of this legislation, no other state has implemented similar legislation.

Campaigns for higher office

2006 gubernatorial election

In 2004 he announced his intent to seek the Republican nomination for

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

but eventually dropped out of the race to endorse Republican rival

Dick DeVos Richard Marvin DeVos Jr. ( ; born October 21, 1955) is an American businessman, author, and former politician. The son of Amway co-founder Richard DeVos, he was CEO of the multi-level marketing company from 1993 to 2002. In 2006 Michigan guber ...

2008 U.S. Senate election

In 2008, the

term-limited A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, whe ...

Hoogendyk announced that he was running in the Republican primary to contest Democrat

Carl Levin Carl Milton Levin (June 28, 1934 – July 29, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as a List of United States senators from Michigan, United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (U ...

's seat in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. He was the only Republican on the August 5 primary ballot. Levin won re-election, defeating Hoogendyk 63%-34%.

2010 congressional election

In March 2010, Hoogendyk announced on his website that he would enter the Republican primary in

Michigan's 6th congressional district Michigan's 6th congressional district is a United States congressional district in southeast Michigan. In 2022, the district was redrawn to be centered around Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County, as we ...

against incumbent Republican U.S. Congressman

Fred Upton Frederick Stephen Upton (born April 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1987 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he represented Kalamazoo, Michigan, ...

. Upton defeated him 57%-43%, winning every county in the district.

2012 congressional election

In 2011, Hoogendyk met with the

Club for Growth The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) political organization active in the United States, with a fiscally conservative agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth's largest funders are billionaires Jeff Yass a ...

, a fiscally conservative

501(c)4 A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 set out ...

organization, about running against Upton in 2012. Upton has received criticism for not being conservative enough from

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...

Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...

FreedomWorks FreedomWorks was a conservative and libertarian advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. FreedomWorks trained volunteers and assisted in campaigns. It was widely associated with the Tea Party movement. The Koch brothers were once a source of ...

, Right to Life of Michigan, and the Southwest Michigan Tea Party Patriots. He announced his candidacy on January 17, 2012. He was not able to unseat Upton and ultimately lost the primary with 33% of the vote. The election was held on August 7, 2012. Had Hoogendyk won the Republican primary, he would have faced Democrat Mike O'Brien in the general election. Upton was ultimately re-elected.

Personal life

Hoogendyk is a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

. He has been married to his wife Erin since April 4, 1976, has five children and as of June 2012 had eleven grandchildren. He moved to

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...

in June 2013 to become the Executive Director of Hope Life Center.

References

External links

*
Hoogendyk's Voting Record
by Michigan Votes, a project of the Mackinac Center
Jack Hoogendyk for US Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoogendyk, Jack American politicians of Dutch descent Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Living people 1955 births Politicians from Kalamazoo, Michigan Businesspeople from Michigan 21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature