Bill Schuette | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Schuette in 2018 | |
| 53rdAttorney General of Michigan | |
| In office January 1, 2011 – January 1, 2019 | |
| Governor | Rick Snyder |
| Preceded by | Mike Cox |
| Succeeded by | Dana Nessel |
| Judge of theMichigan Fourth District Court of Appeals | |
| In office January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Holbrook |
| Succeeded by | Michael Kelly |
| Member of theMichigan Senate from the35th district | |
| In office January 11, 1995 – January 8, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Joanne Emmons |
| Succeeded by | Michelle McManus |
| Director of theMichigan Department of Agriculture | |
| In office January 11, 1991 – February 25, 1994 | |
| Governor | John Engler |
| Preceded by | Robert Mitchell |
| Succeeded by | Gordon Guyer |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's10th district | |
| In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Albosta |
| Succeeded by | Dave Camp |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Duncan Schuette (1953-10-13)October 13, 1953 (age 71) Midland, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Cynthia Grebe |
| Children | 2, includingBill |
| Education | Georgetown University (BS) University of San Francisco (JD) |
William Duncan Schuette (/ˈʃuːti/SHOO-tee;[1] born October 13, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rdattorney general of Michigan from 2011 to 2019.[2] He was the unsuccessfulRepublican nominee forSenate in1990 and forGovernor of Michigan in the2018 gubernatorial election.
Schuette was born inMidland, Michigan. He is the son of Esther Cathrin (née Little) and William H. Schuette,[3] and step-son of Carl Gerstacker, former chairman of the board of TheDow Chemical Company.[4] Schuette graduated fromHerbert Henry Dow High School in 1972. He attendedGeorgetown University inWashington, D.C., and in 1976 graduated cum laude with aBachelor of Science degree in the Foreign Service. He also studied at theUniversity of Aberdeen as an exchange student from 1974 to 1975 and received aJ.D. from theUniversity of San Francisco School of Law in 1979.[5] Schuette was admitted to the Michiganbar in 1981.[6]
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Schuette was a delegate to the Michigan Republican conventions in 1972, 1974, and 1982.
In November 1984, at the age of 31, Schuette narrowly defeated incumbentDemocratDonald J. Albosta for a seat in theUnited States House of Representatives fromMichigan's 10th congressional district. Schuette was re-elected to the two succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1985 until January 3, 1991. In 1990, he unsuccessfully challenged DemocraticUnited States SenatorCarl Levin for reelection. While in Congress, Schuette served on theHouse Budget Committee, theHouse Agriculture Committee and theHouse Select Committee on Aging.
In January 1991, Schuette was named by then-GovernorJohn Engler as the director of theMichigan Department of Agriculture. The incumbent director, Robert Mitchell, resigned after Engler was elected governor.[7] He was approved by the five member agriculture commission on January 11, 1991.[8] While director, Schuette and his wife Cynthia created the Michigan Harvest Gathering, a food and fund drive to help feed hungry people throughout the state.[9] Joining with the Food Bank Council of Michigan, the Michigan Harvest Gathering has raised more than $4 million and 6 million pounds of food over a 12-year period.[9] He resigned from his post on February 25, 1994 to run for theMichigan State Senate.[10] He was replaced byGordon Guyer as director of agriculture.[11][12]
In November 1994, he was elected to theMichigan Senate from the35th district, where he served until 2003. In 2001, Schuette was selected by PresidentGeorge W. Bush to be his personal representative to Australian-American Friendship Week inAustralia.
In November 2002, he was elected a judge on theMichigan Fourth District Court of Appeals. He succeeded Donald E. Holbrook Jr.[13] He took office in January 2003.[14] His term expired on January 1, 2009. He was replaced by Michael J. Kelly.[15]
In 2008, Michigan voters considered a ballot initiative to establish a medical marijuana program for registered patients with qualifying conditions. Schuette served as a spokesperson for a group opposed to the proposed law.[16]After leaving the judiciary, Schuette worked for Warner, Norcross & Judd, one of Michigan's largest law firms.[17]
On November 2, 2010, Schuette won the election to become Michigan Attorney General.[18]
In September 2011, petition language torecall Schuette was approved by Midland County authorities, allowing the circulating of recall petitions. Among the grievances cited are his attempts to undermine the medical marijuana law approved by voters in 2008.[19][20]
In 2011, Schuette filed suit to close two Michigan abortion clinics on grounds of improper record disposal.[21]
Before the Supreme Court's 2015, decision inObergefell v. Hodges, Schuette fought againstsame-sex marriage.[22]
On August 19, 2015, Schuette endorsedJeb Bush for president.[23]
In December 2016, Schuette filed suit to try to stop apresidential election recount effort in Michigan requested byGreen Party candidateJill Stein.[24]
In January 2017, Schuette was admonished by US District JudgeDavid M. Lawson for attempting to file an amicus brief taking an opposite position than Schuette originally took on the issue of requiring the State of Michigan to supply bottled water to Flint residents who lack tap filters. Judge Lawson said it injected a "troubling ethical issue into [the] lawsuit" and it suggested "superficial posturing" on behalf of Schuette.[25]
Schuette chose not to challenge incumbentDan Kildee for his congressional seat in the redrawn district which includes Schuette's home of Midland in the 2022 midterm election.[26]
Schuette was widely believed to be planning to run for governor of Michigan.[27] In July 2016, before speaking on the opening day of the2016 Republican National Convention Schuette changed the name of his fundraising committee from "Bill Schuette for Attorney General" to "Bill Schuette for Michigan." Despite being ineligible for a further term as attorney general due to term limits, Schuette had continued to raise funds[28] since hisNovember 2014 re-election.
In December 2016, Schuette said he had not made up his mind on running for governor but would make a decision sometime in 2017.[29] This is backed up by reports of a falling-out between the attorney general andGovernorRick Snyder.[30]
On September 12, 2017, Schuette announced his campaign for governor inMidland, Michigan.[31] On August 7, 2018, Schuette won the Republican nomination for Michigan governor by defeatingLieutenant GovernorBrian Calley andstate SenatorPatrick Colbeck.[32] His candidacy was supported by PresidentDonald Trump and Vice PresidentMike Pence.[33][34] On November 6, 2018, he lost the general election to DemocratGretchen Whitmer, a former Michigan senate leader, by a nine-point margin.
Schuette lives inMidland, Michigan with his wife Cynthia. They have two children.[35] One of Schuette's children,Bill G. Schuette was elected to theMichigan House of Representatives in 2022.[36]
On July 3, 2018,Ingham County prosecutor Carol Siemon requested a grand jury investigation (which was never conducted) to probe the sale of multimillion-dollar property inherited by Schuette in theVirgin Islands, to determine if any laws were violated. Schuette's spokesperson stated that the accusation was a "baseless attack on an attorney general with a strong ethical record".[37]
Schuette was working to strike down a ballot initiative to eliminate partisangerrymandering, which has gained enough signatures to be on the Michigan ballot in the November 2018 election.[38] The issue went on to the state supreme court, where "Five of the seven justices were nominated or appointed by Republicans, and two of those have received financial backing from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which also happens to be one of the main funders of the opposition campaign. Both justices have refused to recuse themselves from the case."[38] The court upheld the inclusion of the initiative on the ballot, which was approved by voters.[39]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Schuette | 104,950 | 50.1 | +11.2 | ||
| Democratic | Don Albosta (incumbent) | 103,636 | 49.4 | −10.7 | ||
| Libertarian | Bill Leef | 1,054 | 0.5 | +0.5 | ||
| Majority | 1,314 | 0.7 | −20.5 | |||
| Turnout | 209,645 | +23.5 | ||||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Schuette (incumbent) | 78,475 | 51.1 | +1.0 | |
| Democratic | Don Albosta | 74,941 | 48.8 | −0.6 | |
| Write-In | Write-in | 8 | 0.005 | N/A | |
| Majority | 3,534 | 2.3 | +1.7 | ||
| Turnout | 153,424 | −26.8 | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Schuette (incumbent) | 152,646 | 72.7 | +21.6 | |
| Democratic | Mathias G. Forbes | 74,941 | 26.4 | −22.4 | |
| Libertarian | Gary R. Bradley | 1,812 | 0.9 | +0.9 | |
| Other | Other | 7 | 0.003 | N/A | |
| Majority | 77,705 | 46.3 | +44.1 | ||
| Turnout | 209,863 | +36.8 | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Carl Levin (incumbent) | 1,471,753 | 57.4 | +5.6 | |
| Republican | Bill Schuette | 1,055,695 | 41.2 | −6.0 | |
| Workers World | Susan Farquhar | 32,796 | 1.3 | +1.24 | |
| Majority | 416,058 | 16.2 | +11.6 | ||
| Turnout | 2,560,494 | +36.8 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Schuette (incumbent) | 61,510 | 70.4 | N/A | |
| Democratic | Brian Baldwin | 25,900 | 29.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 35,610 | 40.8 | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Schuette | 1,649,223 | 52.59% | −1.29% | |
| Democratic | David Leyton | 1,363,486 | 43.48% | −0.03% | |
| Libertarian | Daniel Grow | 62,737 | 2.00% | +0.33% | |
| Constitution | Gerald Van Sickle | 60,778 | 1.94% | +0.95% | |
| Majority | 285,737 | 9.11% | −1.21% | ||
| Turnout | 3,136,224 | −0.15% | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bill Schuette (incumbent) | 1,603,471 | 52.11% | −0.48% | |
| Democratic | Mark Totten | 1,359,839 | 44.19% | +0.71% | |
| Libertarian | Justin Altman | 57,345 | 1.86% | −0.08% | |
| Constitution | Gerald Van Sickle | 30,762 | 1.0% | −0.94% | |
| Green | John La Pietra | 25,747 | 0.84% | N/A | |
| Majority | 243,632 | 7.92% | −1.19% | ||
| Turnout | 3,077,164 | −1.88% | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gretchen Whitmer Garlin Gilchrist | 2,256,791 | 53.34% | +6.48% | |
| Republican | Bill Schuette Lisa Posthumus Lyons | 1,853,650 | 43.81% | −7.11% | |
| Libertarian | Bill Gelineau Angelique Chaiser Thomas | 56,752 | 1.34% | +0.21% | |
| Constitution | Todd Schleiger Earl P. Lackie | 24,701 | 0.58% | −0.03% | |
| Green | Jennifer V. Kurland Charin H. Davenport | 28,857 | 0.68% | +0.21% | |
| Natural Law | Keith Butkovitch Raymond Warner | 10,258 | 0.24% | − | |
| Majority | 403,141 | 9.53% | +5.47% | ||
| Turnout | 4,231,009 | 34.04% | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | Swing | ||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromMichigan (Class 2) 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forAttorney General of Michigan 2010,2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Michigan 2018 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's 10th congressional district 1985–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Michigan Senate | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theMichigan Senate from the35th district 1995–2002 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Michigan 2011–2019 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative | Succeeded byas Former US Representative |
| Territorial(1805–37) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| State(since 1837) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
