Rick Baxter
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Rick Isaiah Baxter | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 64th district | |
| In office January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Clark Bisbee |
| Succeeded by | Martin Griffin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 18, 1979 |
| Children | Isaac Isaiah, Rachel Ann, Seth Alexander, & Alexander Edward |
| Occupation | Businessman, Politician, and Fmr. Chairman of the Jackson County Republican Party |
Rick Baxter (born July 18, 1979) is an American businessman and politician from Michigan. He currently is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Baxter Machine & Tool Co., Inc. in Jackson, Michigan.
Baxter's previous positions have been the chairman of the Jackson County Republican Party, the Business Development Director for his family's company Baxter Machine & Tool Co., Inc. in Jackson, Michigan, district director for Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) (2007),[1] Republican State Representative in the Michigan House of Representatives (2005–2006), County Commissioner for Jackson County, Michigan (2003–2004), and holding several positions, most recently as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), for Baxter Machine & Tool Co., Inc. (1997–2004).[2]
Baxter is a member of a local Churches of Christ congregation where he has taught a Bible class and has served as their Treasurer since 2005. He has also been a guest preacher at his and other churches. Rick Baxter is a graduate of Lenawee Christian School in Adrian, Michigan (1997) and received his Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) from Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor, Michigan (2003).[3]
Baxter's first campaign was in 2002 when he ran for the Jackson County (Michigan) Commission. He defeated the two-term incumbent Republican county commissioner in the primary and went on to win the seat, unopposed, in November.
In 2004, Baxter ran for an open seat for State Representative. He defeated two other Republicans in the primary. Baxter won a very tight general election, winning by 358 votes out of a total of 37,714.
As State Representative Baxter had 14 bills signed into law. In the summer of 2005 he published a controversial article in the Wall Street Journal titled "How to Skin a Wolverine."[4] The article caught the ire of then Governor Jennifer Granholm who labeled his views "treasonous." During both years in the Michigan House he was rated by Inside Michigan Politics as "The Most Conservative Freshman" in the Michigan Legislature, rated second Most Conservative in the entire State in 2006.
For his next re-election, Baxter won the primary with over 65% of the vote but went on to lose his re-election bid in the general. Both parties combined spent almost 1.5 million dollars in this race that year.
In 2008 Baxter ran for the open seat of Jackson County Treasurer, but lost the election in November.
Party chair
Baxter served as chair of the Jackson County Republican Party from 2007 to 2008. During that time he was credited for fundamentally reorganizing the local party, rewriting their by-laws, consolidating their committees, and removed prominent inactive members with active new ones. He secured Karl Rove as the keynote speaker for the party's major fundraiser of the year, the Lincoln Day Dinner, an event that raised over $20,000, well over double what any preceding event had raised.
In 2008 he has started to organize the Party to work more closely with candidates, at all levels, to share costs, strategies, and resources. In June 2008, Baxter resigned his position as chair to run for Jackson County Treasurer.
In 2008, Baxter was awarded "Republican of the Year" by the Jackson County Republican Party.