Two former Michigan representatives are seeking redemption, and their vacant seats, in a special Republican primary on Tuesday after they were forced out of the state legislature for their extramarital affair and its subsequent cover-up.
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Gamrat was also running in Tuesday’s primary, but she conceded by around 9:20 p.m.
The tea party duo departed from the Legislature after Courser’s failed cover-up of their extramarital affair, as well as what House investigators said was lying and misuse of taxpayers resources of taxpayer resources for personal and political purposes by Gamrat and Courser.
Courser resigned in September while facing expulsion; Gamrat was expelled.
In May, Courser sent a sexually explicit phony email to GOP activists and reporters that said he had been caught having sex with a male prostitute behind a Lansing nightclub.
Gamrat has campaigning door-to-door in her district and says she’s faced little backlash from voters over the affair and being expelled for misconduct.
Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser wanted to give voters a chance to decide their fate and not leave their political careers to their colleagues in Lansing, and in both cases the voters rejected their bids for reelection in resounding fashion. The self-smear email called Courser a “bi-sexual porn addicted sex deviant” and “gun toting Bible thumping … freak” and Gamrat a “tramp”.
In west Michigan’s Allegan County, Mary Whiteford of South Haven comfortably led with 49 percent of the vote among eight Republican candidates with 60 percent of the precincts reporting. Mary Whiteford is leading with 51.67 percent of the vote. Nurse Jan Peabody was second with 15.2 percent while Courser trailed far behind in fifth place with 3 percent of the vote.
Cindy Gamrat had almost 9 percent of the vote with 35 percent of precincts reporting in Allegan County Tuesday night. In 2014, she lost the GOP nomination in the 80th House District to Gamrat.
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The staffers, including one who refused to send the email at Courser’s request, have filed a whistleblower and libel/slander lawsuit against Courser and Gamrat.
