Rick Outman (born December 15, 1963) is a Republican politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Since 2019, he has been a member of the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

, elected from the 33rd Senate district. He was a 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 ...

, 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 Lakeview is a village in Cato Township in Montcalm County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,024 at the 2020 census. History Lakeview was first settled in 1858 and platted in 1867 by Albert S. French, a settler from New York. ...

. He grew up in

Montcalm County, Michigan Montcalm County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 66,614. The county is geographically located in the West Michigan region of the Lower Peninsula. The county seat is Stanton, and the la ...

. He received a bachelor's degree from

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on ...

.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). He is the owner and operator of Outman Excavating, a third-generation family business.Jonathan Oosting
Senator, aide switch jobs in Michigan Legislature
''Detroit News'' (March 1, 2019). He formerly was a member of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

and

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

, and a

substitute teacher A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is absent or unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, maternal leave and so on. "Substitute teacher" (usually abbreviated as sub) is the most c ...

Political career

State House

Outman unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for

in the 70th district in 2008. He was defeated in the

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

, coming in fourth place among six candidates.August 2008 official primary results
Michigan Secretary of State. Thomas A. Ginster won the Republican nomination, and was in turn defeated in the November 2008 general election by

Mike Huckleberry Michael "Huck" Huckleberry (born July 12, 1948) is a politician, restaurateur, and small business owner from Greenville, Michigan. In 2008, he was elected as a Democrat to the Michigan State House of Representatives. He represented the 70th H ...

, the first Democrat to hold the seat since 1932. Outman ran again in 2010 and defeated Huckleberry. Outman was elected to two additional terms in the state House, in 2012 and 2014. 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. In 2012, Outman voted in favor of a "

right-to-work law In the context of labor law in the United States, the term right-to-work laws refers to state laws that prohibit union security agreements between employers and labor unions. Such agreements can be incorporated into union contracts to requir ...

" that barred labor unions from collecting fees from workers represented under

collective bargaining agreements Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...

. In 2013, he voted against

Medicaid expansion Under the public healthcare policy of the United States, some people have incomes too high to qualify in their state of residence for Medicaid, the public health insurance plan for those with limited resources, but too low to qualify for the pr ...

bill, which passed on a 76–31 vote (original version) and then a 75–32 vote (final version).Tim Martin
How they voted: Medicaid proposal splits Republicans in Michigan House
''MLive'' (June 14, 2013). 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. In 2014, Outman voted against a compromise bill to increase Michigan's

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

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 Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. Snyder, who was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, ...

State Senate

He was ineligible to run for reelection to the House in 2016 due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

, and was hired as a legislative staffer (district liaison) by Republican state Senator

Judy Emmons Judy K. Emmons is a former Michigan state senator who represented District 33. She is the former chair of the Families, Seniors and Human Services Committee, and former vice-chair of Education. Michigan House of Representatives Emmons' first c ...

at the end of 2016. Emmons was ineligible to run for reelection to the Senate due to term limits. In 2018, Outman won election to fill her state Senate seat. The district is solidly Republican; Outman won the August 2018 Republican

with 72 percent of the vote, and won the 2018 general election by a margin of about 20 percentage points. He took office in 2019. Outman then hired Emmons to be his district liaison. Outman cosponsored, with Senator Marshall Bullock, bipartisan legislation to ban minors from using

electronic cigarette An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), or vape, is a device that simulates smoking. It consists of an atomizer, a power source such as a battery, and a container such as a cartridge or tank. Instead of smoke, the user inhales vapor. As such ...

s (vaping). During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the American state of Michigan were discovered on March 10, 2020, one day before the outbreak of the disease was officially declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. As of December 20, ...

, Outman criticized Governor

Gretchen Whitmer Gretchen Esther Whitmer (; born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of R ...

for coronavirus restrictions. In the 2020 presidential election,

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

defeated

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

; Biden won by three percentage points in Michigan.Craig Mauger
Donald Trump, pushing election claims, says, 'Michigan needs a new Legislature'
''Detroit News'' (November 15, 2021).Clara Hendrickson & Dave Boucher
Michigan Republican-led investigation rejects Trump's claim that Nov. 3 election was stolen
''Detroit Free Press'' (June 23, 2021). 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." As of 2022, Outman was chair of the Department of Health and Human Services sub-committee budget and the Environmental Quality Committee. Outman's 33rd state Senate district originally encompassed Montcalm,

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

, Gratiot,

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

, and Mecosta counties. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, the district was redrawn to cover seven counties in

West Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

: all of Montcalm and Newaygo counties and portions of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

Muskegon Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

, and

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

counties. Outman is seeking reelection in 2022 in the new district. During his campaign, he accused Whitmer of attempting "to centrally plan our society."

Personal life

Outman lives in Six Lakes, Michigan. He is married and has three children. His son Pat Outman has been a member of the Michigan House since 2021, filling his father's old seat.Elisabeth Waldon
Following in his father's footsteps: Pat Outman announces candidacy for 70th District
''Daily News'' (October 21, 2019).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Outman, Rick 1963 births Living people People from Montcalm County, Michigan Grand Valley State University alumni Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Republican Party Michigan state senators 21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature