Andrew Kamal
Andrew Kamal (independent) ran in a special election to the Michigan State Senate to represent District 8. He did not appear on the ballot for the special general election on November 2, 2021.
Kamal completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2021
See also: Michigan state legislative special elections, 2021
General election
Special general election for Michigan State Senate District 8
Douglas Wozniak defeated Martin Genter in the special general election for Michigan State Senate District 8 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Douglas Wozniak (R) | 61.9 | 30,555 |
 | Martin Genter (D)  | 38.1 | 18,838 | |
| Total votes: 49,393 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Andrew Kamal (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Special Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 8
Martin Genter defeated John Bill in the special Democratic primary for Michigan State Senate District 8 on August 3, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Martin Genter | 70.5 | 9,562 |
 | John Bill | 29.5 | 3,999 | |
| Total votes: 13,561 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 8
The following candidates ran in the special Republican primary for Michigan State Senate District 8 on August 3, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Douglas Wozniak | 35.7 | 9,510 |
 | Pamela Hornberger | 29.5 | 7,861 | |
 | Terence Mekoski | 20.8 | 5,553 | |
| Mary Berlingieri | 7.7 | 2,050 | |
| Kristi Dean | 2.5 | 666 | |
 | Bill Carver | 2.4 | 645 | |
| Grant Golasa | 1.4 | 372 | |
| Total votes: 26,657 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Andrew Kamal completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kamal's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I have years of experience and expertise in regards to startups, technology and a vast array of different forms of scientific research. Currently, given the political climate of things, I believe that our socioeconomic structures is in severe need of updating. Instead of splitting different sides of the political spectrum to two core groups and getting nothing done, I believe it is time for somewhat of a change. Politics divides people, it isn't based on performance, and lots of systems we have our severely outdated for this day in age. This is especially true when we look at the tax system, or our role as citizens in everyday life. My ideas are centered around common sense ways to dramatically change the outdated structure of society. Right now, I want to start out small whether it is doing things in state legislature or working with the private sector.
- United by humanity rather then by greed
- Common sense principles
- A time for change in the system
I am interested in the following areas:
Pro-Life:
I am full pro-life and support the rights of the unborn. I do believe that we can however tackle the issues of unplanned pregnancies using adoption matching networks that allow those looking to adopt to be matched with a unplanned parent. This is something I want to work on and be in talks w/ different agencies on.
2nd Amendment:
I do fully believe in the right to bear arms. However, in the current political climate and system we have in place, there is alot of brokenness. For example we need to be harsher on those who sell guns to minors as this is a felony offense. I also believe that if we are going to impose gun-free zones, then there needs to be a set of safety protocols in regards to locks, voluntary private security, etc. in order to prevent a disaster from happening.
Government Spending:
I believe that the government needs to be more accountable in regards to what they are spending money on.
Tax System:
The tax system is fully broken. I believe it is feasible to have a tax-free society in the future, but alot needs to happen in order to make that a reality. I was thinking of designs for distributed socioeconomic structures, or some form of financial market for the public sector in which ROIs are given for your taxed income. We are having a net loss on our income, & a net gain in our debt.
Welfare:
I am looking into redesigning the entire welfare program to be more organized
War:
End unneeded war
I believe they should believe in free speech, and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I have many fundamental believes that I think are important and prominent in a civilized society. For example, whether you are a creationist, evolutionist, naturalist, etc., science tells us that we are all genetically related. The concept of race shouldn't exist and racism is the worst of humanity. I also believe things such as all forms of censorship is bad, given that if one disagrees with something it is better to point out disagreement rather then blocking out what they have to say. Moderation when it comes to targeted harassment, threats or adhering to an editorial policy isn't the same thing as censorship. I also believe that pro-free speech platforms should stay online. I believe that crony capitalism is a result of regulations in which the government creates enforced monopolies w/ large private entities. Part of my expertise in the startup world have even been working on the creation of a decentralized internet. I believe it is very important that we don't allow a small amount of gatekeepers to be responsible for the narrative for everybody else. Humans have free will, and are not meant to be enslaved by enforced ideologies. I think we can all work together through lots of core areas of common sense, and make the world a better place.
I think a politician should be a fighter who works relentlessly in regards to what is moral and the common good
I want to leave the world in a better place then when I entered unto it. I also want to fight for my faith, principles, and core values.
I believe political knowledge is important, but it is unnecessary to have previous experience in government or politics. The reason politics needs so many outsiders is many politicians don't care about change or rather line up their pockets with special interests.
It is important to build relationships with other legislators, because they can help you if they are aligned with a similar mission. Even legislators with opposite political philosophies can challenge your mindset and help you consider your unconventional biases.
While I am not expecting to win the current position I am running for,I do have hopes in the future of running for president. It really depends on how far our society moves forward until then.
Lots of times, I hear stories of the government creating certain policies or regulations that overstep their boundaries or harm others. I heard the story of a guy building homes for many homeless people, and the same city council and mayor that talked about wanting to help the homeless, wanted those temporary homes (build by the private sector and even moved to a vacant parking lot voluntarily by the person who owns that lot) shut down and the homeless back in tents. Other horror stories of government regulation, include a guy who was scared of losing his own pet due to certain restrictions in his county. I had trouble personally bringing in small business to some small towns due to zoning laws and restrictions. Those were business that could have created economic surplus. There are even restrictions in regards to how people spend their own money whether in financial markets or buying digital goods, "in order to protect them from themselves". Many times the government gets paid tons of dollars to make new laws and regulations that disfranchise or hurt others.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2021 Elections
External links
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Footnotes
