Kerry Bentivolio (MI-11)

THE CANDIDATE

Name: Kerry Bentivolio

Age: 60

Hometown: Detroit, MI

Family: Kerry and his wife, Karen, maintain an apiary, vineyard, and a small flock of chickens.

Personal Biography: Kerry Bentivolio was born in 1951 in Detroit. He earned his Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Oakland Community College and his B.A. and Master’s Degree from Michigan State University in Education. Kerry served in the military in various capacities for 27 years, and also worked as an automotive design engineer, and teacher at both public and private institutions.

Political Biography: Kerry Bentivolio is generally described as a populist with libertarian ideals. He served as an event coordinator in 1980 for Ronald Reagan, and ran for the Michigan Senate in the 15th District in 2010, finishing second to Republican Mike Kowall. Bentivolio is currently running for the House in Michigan's 11th District, currently held by Republican Thaddeus McCotter. McCotter was supposed to face Bentivolio in the primary election, but he failed to garner enough signatures to be on the ballot, meaning that Bentivolio will enter the primary unopposed.

Website: wwww.BentivolioforCongress.com

THE RACE

Primary Election: August 7, 2012

General Election: November 6, 2012

The District: The election will fill the congressional seat left open by Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, who is retiring after failing to submit a qualifying quantity of signatures to be on the GOP primary ballot to compete for re-election. Bentivolio would be the only Republican on the ballot for the Michigan Republican Primary Election, though there could be write-in candidates. In the general election, Bentivolio's possible opponent is Democrat Syed Taj. Research shows the 11th District leans Republican.