The race for the Republican nomination for Attorney General will be decided at the Michigan Republican Convention on August 25 in Lansing. Two candidates are competing for the nomination. Tom Leonard was a prosecutor who was elected to the Michigan state house in 2012 and became speaker in 2016. Tonya Schuitmaker is a lawyer, state representative (2004-2010) and state senator (2010-2018).
Republican delegates who want to nominate the right person need to know the records of the two candidates. Both have voting records, which can be researched at MichiganVotes.org. The following summarizes their records on issues of importance to conservatives.
Gas Tax Increase Both Leonard and Tonya opposed Proposal 1, which would have increased taxes by 2 billion dollars to pay for roads and other transportation projects. Leonard and Tonya both supported a smaller gas tax increase for roads.
Amazon Tax Leonard opposed the ‘Amazon Tax’ to force consumers to pay sales tax on out-of-state internet purchases. Tonya supported this tax increase.
Income Tax Cut Leonard supported and led an effort to cut the state income tax, which narrowly failed in the state house. The state senate did not vote on the bill.
Medicaid Expansion Both Leonard and Tonya opposed Medicaid expansion, which was part of the implementation of Obamacare.
Pension Reform Both Leonard and Tonya supported reforming school employee pensions. Leonard led the effort to make sure that the bill passed.
Business Subsidies The Mackinac Center recently released an index to rate how often a legislator has voted to support taxpayer supported business subsidies. Leonard supported 70.1% of subsidies, while Tonya supported 76.9% of subsidies.
Hollywood Subsidies Both Leonard and Tonya voted to end subsidies for Hollywood movie studios.
FoxConn Subsidies Leonard opposed subsidies for FoxConn, a Taiwanese company. Tonya supported the subsidies.
Electric Choice Leonard and Tonya both voted for a bill to impose more regulation on electricity generation and limit choice of electricity providers.
Auto Insurance Leonard supported a bill to reform auto insurance to provide more choices and reduce rates. The bill failed in the state house and was not taken up in the state senate.
Speed Limits Both Leonard and Tonya voted for a small increase in freeway speed limits.
Common Core Leonard opposed the implementation of Common Core education standards. The state senate passed Common Core with an (unrecorded) voice vote, but Tonya indicated her support for Common Core. Neither chamber has voted on Common Core repeal legislation this session.
Constitutional Carry Leonard voted for constitutional carry, and made sure the bill was voted on as speaker. The state senate has not taken up the bill.
Official English Leonard supported making English the official language of Michigan. Tonya was one of only two Republicans to oppose official English in 2006.
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