Robert "Robbie" VanderLaan (c. 1930-November 1, 2015) was a former majority leader of the

Michigan State 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 Constitution of Michigan, Mi ...

. A Republican, he ran to replace

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

as representative for Michigan's 5th congressional district in a 1974 special election, but was defeated by Democrat Richard Vander Veen. It was seen as a stunning upset; VanderLaan had previously never lost an election and the district had long been considered a Republican stronghold. He served in the Senate for 20 years in total; after retirement he joined Democrat Bobby Crim in forming a

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

firm; he also had a career as a lawyer.Polpourri: Patrick Miles doesn't have confidence in Pelosi to 'heal the partisan divide' , MLive.com
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References

1930s births 2015 deaths American people of Dutch descent Republican Party Michigan state senators Michigan lawyers Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan People from Kentwood, Michigan 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature {{Michigan-MISenate-stub