Patrick Colbeck

Colbeck was born on October 7, 1965, in Dearborn, Michigan. He is a graduate of Detroit Catholic Central High School. He later graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering in 1987 and a Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering in 1988.{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcolbeck|title=LinkedIn Profile for Patrick Colbeck|last=Colbeck|first=Patrick|date=October 8, 2016|website=LinkedIn Profile|publisher=|access-date=}} He went on to study Life Sciences for a summer at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

Colbeck was employed by Boeing as a Senior Design Engineer responsible for components of the Environmental Control and Life Support System and Quest Airlock module for International Space Station. He later provided contract systems engineering services to the Department of Defense for work on advanced simulation system for training military forces.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gongwer.com/login/?relink=https://www.gongwer.com/directories/bio.cfm?nameid=251401%26oldCFID=14558298%26oldCFTOKEN=fccecff50c4308d4-E9BCCDAA-B699-654D-05427A94B45B2C42|title=Gongwer News Service - Michigan|website=www.gongwer.com}} Colbeck then served as a Management Consultant and President of [http://perspectiveshifts.biz/ Perspective Shifts, LLC]. He launched Tek Made Easy in 2007 to provide SharePoint-based web services for clients. In 2006, he published the book Information Technology Roadmap for Professional Service Firms.{{cite book |title= Amazon listing |isbn= 0978504909 |last1= Colbeck |first1= Patrick J. |year= 2006 |publisher= Perspective Shifts Press }}

He is married to his wife Angie since 1995. They both are members of Northridge Church in Plymouth, Michigan, and call Canton, Michigan home.{{cite web | title=Principles Matter | website=Principles Matter | date=February 26, 2007 | url=https://morninginmichigan.com/ | access-date=November 30, 2020}}

Senator Colbeck ran for office during the Tea Party wave of the 2010 elections. As a member of the Rattle With Us Tea Party in Plymouth, Michigan, he leveraged his retirement account to fund his campaign to become the first state senator elected directly into the Michigan Senate without ever having served in public office in three decades. During his first term in the Michigan Senate, he served on the Senate Leadership Team as the Assistant Caucus Chair. He also served as the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and State Police budgets. During his second term, his outspoken opposition to Obamacare, tax increases, and Common Core standards motivated the Republican Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof to make him the only returning Republican Senator to be denied any chairmanships.{{cite news |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/michigan/2015/01/02/veteran-michigan-senator-get-snubbed/21172693/ |title=Did veteran Michigan senator get snubbed? |last1=Livengood |first1=Chad |last2=Heinlein |first2=Gary |last3=Pardo |first3=Steve |last4=Burr |first4=Richard |last5=Shepardson |first5=David |date=January 2, 2015 |work=The Detroit News |access-date=November 24, 2020}} He later had him removed from all committees after Colbeck attended a Right to Life Dinner in the Senate Majority Leader's district.{{cite news |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2017/10/11/michigan-senator-patrick-colbeck-committees/753749001/ |title=GOP leadership kicks state Sen. Patrick Colbeck off 4 committees |last=Gray |first=Kathleen |date=October 11, 2017 |work=Detroit Free Press |access-date=November 24, 2020}}

In 2011–2012, Colbeck led the effort to make Michigan the 24th right-to-work state in the United States. Characterized as "arguably the most vocal conservative in the Michigan Senate", he led the effort to oppose state-based health exchanges in Michigan and Medicaid expansion. He was successful regarding the state-based exchange effort but, despite a procedural move that temporarily blocked passage, he was ultimately unsuccessful in stopping Medicaid expansion, which is now referred to as the Healthy Michigan program. He was also responsible for the passage of legislation to expand school choice and he has been a vocal opponent of the Common Core Standards Initiative.

He is a co-founder and board member for the Michigan Armed Forces Hospitality Center known as the Freedom Center.{{cite web |url=https://www.mifreedomcenter.org/board-of-directors.html |title=Board of Directors |website=MI Freedom Center |publisher=Michigan Armed Forces Hospitality Center, Inc. |access-date=November 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218075019/https://www.mifreedomcenter.org/board-of-directors.html |archive-date=February 18, 2020 |url-status=dead}} He chronicled his time in the Michigan Senate in his book Wrestling Gators: An Outsider's Guide to Draining the Swamp{{cite book |last1=Colbeck |first1=Patrick |last2=Combs Jr. |first2=Ira |author-link=Patrick Colbeck |date=May 9, 2018 |title=Wrestling Gators: An Outsider's Guide to Draining the Swamp |publisher=Illumify Media Group |isbn=978-1947360136}} as well as chronicled the 2020 election in The 2020 Coup: What happened? What we can do?{{Cite web |title=Catalog {{!}} McHenry Press |url=https://mchenrypress.com/catalog/ |access-date=April 30, 2022 |website=mchenrypress.com}}

Colbeck was a vocal critic of government-led healthcare expansion in the state of Michigan.{{cite web |url=https://www.mackinac.org/21653 |title=Michigan's Obamacare Medicaid Expansion |last=Moy |first=Jonathan |date=August 21, 2015 |website=Mackinac Center for Public Policy |access-date=November 29, 2020 |quote="State Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton) was perhaps the most vocal critic of Medicaid expansion in the state Senate."}} His Forbes articles entitled "Free Market Healthcare Revolution: Why and How" and "The Case for Medicaid Block Grants" outline his views on healthcare.{{Cite web |last=Colbeck |first=Patrick |date=October 12, 2016 |title=A Free Market Healthcare Revolution: Why And How |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2016/10/12/a-free-market-healthcare-revolution-why-and-how/ |access-date=September 27, 2024 |website=Forbes}}{{Cite web |last=Colbeck |first=Patrick |date=July 18, 2017 |title=The Case For Medicaid Block Grants |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2017/07/18/the-case-for-medicaid-block-grants/ |access-date=September 27, 2024 |website=Forbes}}

In 2011, Senator Colbeck co-founded the MI Freedom Center (aka Michigan Armed Forces Hospitality Center) to serve military personnel, veterans and their families. As the chair of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs budget, he implemented performance-based budgets that helped improve Michigan veteran services from among the worst in the nation to second in the nation.Based upon quarterly metrics reports filed by MI DMVA

In 2015, during the middle of an intense debate over how to fix Michigan's roads, Senator Colbeck challenged his colleagues to a debate over whether or not it was necessary to increase taxes to fix the roads.{{cite AV media |date=October 7, 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz2J4mty07A |title=Michigan Senator challenges 'any state elected official' to gas tax debate |publisher=MLive |via=YouTube |access-date=February 17, 2023}} Senator Curtis Hertel accepted the challenge, and the ensuing debate was moderated by Kyle Melinn of MIRS News Service.{{cite AV media |date=October 21, 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f9lfhoyTII |title=Sen. Colbeck participates in road funding debate |publisher=SenatorPatColbeck |via=YouTube |access-date=February 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313183835/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f9lfhoyTII |archive-date=March 13, 2021 |url-status=live}}

Colbeck has publicly stated that it is his opinion that wireless technology represents the primary environmental issue of the present day.{{cite AV media |date=January 7, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5f-qDbVvCQ |title=Wireless Tech Forum: Introduction (Patrick Colbeck) |publisher=Patrick Colbeck |via=YouTube |access-date=February 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418212657/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5f-qDbVvCQ |archive-date=April 18, 2022 |url-status=live}} In December 2018, he hosted a forum in Lansing to discuss the benefits and risks of wireless technology such as smart meters, cell phones and 5G networks.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzxSfWG1ZjiB71mHLQQDUQbE8jjQtiZj0 |title=Wireless Technology Forum |website=YouTube |location=Lansing |access-date=November 29, 2020}} During his tenure, he introduced legislation which he claimed would empower consumers with increased choice as to the source of their electricity.{{cite web |url=http://legislature.mi.gov/(S(tfswumnomlbp1objxrhucltv))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=2016-SB-1164 |title=Senate Bill 1164 (2016) |last=Colbeck |first=Patrick |date=November 10, 2016 |website=Michigan Legislature |publisher=Michigan Legislative Service Bureau |access-date=November 29, 2020}}

He was widely criticized in 2018 for his remarks at a public forum featuring former member of the Muslim Brotherhood Kamal Saleem and former Department of Homeland Security affiliated counter-terrorism expert Philip Haney. During the forum, he referenced a document entered as evidence in the federal trial U.S. vs Holy Land Foundation called the "Explanatory Memorandum". The "Explanatory Memorandum" contains the Muslim Brotherhood's outline for what they refer to as "civilization jihad" in America. It cites organizations such as the Muslim Students Association as means to that end.{{Cite web|url=https://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2013/05/25/an-explanatory-memorandum-from-the-archives-of-the-muslim-brotherhood-in-america/|title=An Explanatory Memorandum: From the Archives of the Muslim Brotherhood in America|date=May 25, 2013|website=Center for Security Policy}} The Muslim Students' Association is cited in the Explanatory Memorandum as an organization affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} Colbeck made a point of highlighting that Abdul El-Sayed, one of his Democratic Party opponents, was Vice President of the Muslim Students Association at the University of Michigan. Abdul El-Sayed responded to Colbeck's remarks, calling for the GOP Field to condemn Islamophobia and racism, and to Colbeck, "You may not hate Muslims, but Muslims definitely hate you."{{Cite web|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/10/islamophobia-charge-rocks-michigan-governor-debate/34765749/|title='Islamophobia' charge rocks Michigan governor debate|first=Jonathan|last=Oosting|website=The Detroit News}}

During a public forum where he discussed belief in not utilizing tax increases, the Senator referred to his $72,000 salary as 'fixed income' since it remained constant throughout his eight years of public service. Critics took issue with his assertion, with some viewing the statement as insensitive to people of lower income levels.{{cite web |last1=Zavala-Offman |first1=Alysa |title=Michigan senator calls his 72k salary a 'fixed income' |url=https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2017/01/04/michigan-senator-calls-his-72k-salary-a-fixed-income |website=Detroit Metro Times |access-date=April 8, 2019 |archive-date=April 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408022847/https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2017/01/04/michigan-senator-calls-his-72k-salary-a-fixed-income |url-status=dead }} "I often use the term 'fixed' to describe variables that are constant," Colbeck claimed in a statement. "For example, I regularly refer to 'fixed' and 'variable' costs in financial discussions. Plus, I like to fix things and we have many problems in state government that can benefit from this attitude."{{cite web |last1=Herndon |first1=Dave |title=State senator prides himself on living on fixed income of over $70,000 a year |url=http://www.thenewsherald.com/news/politics/state-senator-prides-himself-on-living-on-fixed-income-of/article_14072ccf-cf54-5a4d-9900-80f322453df5.html |website=The News Herald |publisher=Media Newsgroup, Inc. |access-date=April 8, 2019 |archive-date=April 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408022848/http://www.thenewsherald.com/news/politics/state-senator-prides-himself-on-living-on-fixed-income-of/article_14072ccf-cf54-5a4d-9900-80f322453df5.html |url-status=dead }}

Colbeck called for the repeal of the Michigan business tax as a freshman state senator, claiming this and other cuts could save the state of Michigan $5.7 billion annually.{{cite web |last1=Kelsey |first1=Nancy |title=Column From Sen. Colbeck: Michigan Business Tax Needs Repeal |date=January 30, 2011 |url=https://patch.com/michigan/northville/column-from-sen-colbeck-michigan-business-tax-needs-repeal |publisher=Patch Media}} When it became a House bill and it was time to vote on the repeal, he voted "no", citing issues with the legislation increasing taxes on seniors and property.{{cite web |title=No. 41 STATE OF MICHIGAN Journal of the Senate 96th Legislature REGULAR SESSION OF 2011 |url=http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(uqrz03idxnmtqe55cg4dh2ua))/documents/2011-2012/Journal/Senate/htm/2011-SJ-05-12-041.htm}}

{{See also|2018 Michigan gubernatorial election}}

On May 31, 2017, Colbeck filed to run for Michigan gubernatorial office to replace the then term-limited Republican incumbent governor Rick Snyder, whose second and final gubernatorial term expired specifically on January 1, 2019.{{cite news |last=Oosting |first=Jonathan |date=May 31, 2017 |title=Colbeck files to run for Michigan governor |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/05/31/patrick-colbeck-gov-run/102363312/ |work=The Detroit News |location=Mackinac Island |access-date=November 29, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Egan |first=Paul |date=June 3, 2016 |title=2018 Michigan governor's election bubbles below surface at Mackinac |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/06/03/2018-governors-race-bubbles-below-surface-mackinac/85285884/ |work=Detroit Free Press |location=Mackinac Island |access-date=November 29, 2020}} Colbeck was widely recognized as the most conservative candidate for governor in the 2018 gubernatorial race.{{cite news |last=Egan |first=Paul |date=May 11, 2018 |title=He's Michigan's most conservative Republican candidate for governor |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/05/11/patrick-colbeck-michigan-governor-candidate/480985002/ |work=Detroit Free Press |location=Canton |access-date=November 29, 2020}}{{cite news |last=LeBlanc |first=Beth |date=June 6, 2018 |title=Faith, 'principled' conservatism drive GOP governor hopeful Colbeck |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/06/06/patrick-colbeck-governor-republican-primary/613371002/ |work=The Detroit News |location=Grand Rapids |access-date=November 29, 2020 |quote="Colbeck opposed pension taxes, the Medicaid expansion, minimum wage increases and gasoline tax hikes to fund road repairs — at times alienating his own party ... Colbeck alienated colleagues by telling them how to get things done in the Senate even though he had little experience doing so himself, the Monroe Republican said."}}

Colbeck ran on what he called "principled solutions", asserting that the "solutions to the issues we face as a state are driven by guiding principles, not the whims of powerful special interests." His "principled solutions" are: job growth, excellence in education, no state income tax, budgets driven by priorities of the citizens of the state, better roads, quality and affordable healthcare, affordable auto insurance, defending one's rights and supporting those who secure rights.{{cite news |author= |date=July 25, 2018 |title=Meet the Candidates: Patrick Colbeck (R) for Governor |url=https://www.wilx.com/content/news/MEET-THE-CANDIDATES-Gretchen-Whitmer-D-for-Governor-489145801.html |work=WILX-TV |access-date=November 29, 2020}}

In August 2018, Colbeck lost the Republican primary to then-Attorney General Bill Schuette. He received 13% of the Republican primary vote in a four-way primary race.

In November 2020, Colbeck was a certified poll challenger at the TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan. He later appeared at the 2020 Wayne County Board of Canvassers and Michigan State Board of Canvassers certification meetings sharing concerns over unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.{{cite news |last=Boucher |first=Dave |date=November 23, 2020 |title=Michigan board votes to certify election results despite GOP calls to delay |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/23/did-michigan-certify-election-results-board-canvassers/6388768002/ |work=Detroit Free Press |access-date=November 29, 2020}} An affidavit filed by Colbeck claims that the computers used by election officials were connected to the Internet, which "opens the door" to possible vote manipulation.{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Ross |date=November 17, 2020 |title=Claims of rampant voter fraud in Michigan don't hold up to scrutiny |url=https://www.wxyz.com/news/local-news/investigations/claims-of-rampant-voter-fraud-in-michigan-dont-hold-up-to-scrutiny |work=WXYZ-TV |access-date=November 29, 2020}} However, chief judge Timothy Kenny found that there was "no evidence" to support these claims.{{cite web|last=Kenny|first=Timothy|date=November 13, 2020|title=Case No. 20-014780-AW|url=https://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/Opinion_and_order_Nov_13_2020_707794_7.pdf|access-date=November 29, 2020|publisher=State of Michigan in the Third Judicial Circuit Court for the County of Wayne|pages=6–7|quote="No evidence supports Mr. Colbeck's position."}}

Colbeck assisted My Pillow founder Mike Lindell in the production of a two-hour documentary, Absolute Proof,{{Citation|last=Howse|first=Brannon|title=Absolute Proof|date=February 5, 2021|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13991470/|type=Documentary|others=Shiva Ayyadurai, Melissa Carone, Patrick Colbeck, Eric Coomer|access-date=February 15, 2021}} that aired on conservative media outlets and social media February 5, 2021, asserting Chinese cyber hacking was largely responsible for Joe Biden winning the presidency in 2020. The New York Times described the production the same day as "a falsehood-laden film about election fraud," reliant upon discredited testimony and baseless speculation.{{Cite news|last1=Browning|first1=Kellen|last2=Hsu|first2=Tiffany|date=February 6, 2021|title=Three false claims about the election made in Mike Lindell's new film.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/technology/three-false-claims-about-the-election-made-in-mike-lindells-new-film.html|access-date=February 15, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Colbeck appeared on FlashPoint February 12, 2021, as a guest of Kenneth Copeland Ministries' Victory Channel, insisting that Lindell's documentary stuck to "100% objective facts" and not "conjecture" and that Colbeck's role in Absolute Proof earned him "no fallout," and that "people are hungry for this information."{{cite web|last=Colbeck|first=Patrick|date=February 12, 2021|title=Victory News: Trump's Defense, Gavin Newsom Recall & Hypocrisy|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4K_m5VTuf8|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213172115/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4K_m5VTuf8|archive-date=February 13, 2021|access-date=February 12, 2021|website=THE VICTORY CHANNEL|publisher=Kenneth Copeland Ministries}} The "fallout" relates to negative consequences Lindell incurred since promoting Donald Trump's 2020 election grievances and conspiracies propagated since November by lawyers associated with Trump.

In June 2021, Colbeck participated in a rally at Lansing, calling for an audit of Michigan's 2020 election similar to the Arizona audit. In the rally, Colbeck called the event a "spiritual battle" and compared the 2020 election to the persecution of Jesus Christ{{Cite web|date=June 17, 2021|title=GOP activists ask God, demand lawmakers deliver Arizona-style audit of Michigan's 2020 election|url=https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2021/06/gop-activists-ask-god-demand-lawmakers-deliver-arizona-style-audit-of-michigans-2020-election.html|access-date=June 30, 2021|website=mlive|language=en}} and in 2022 chronicled the 2020 election in The 2020 Coup: What happened. What we can do.

Colbeck has continued to push his claims of election fraud since the 2020 election, falsely asserting that Dominion Voting Systems' ballot-counting machines were connected to the internet and could have been hacked. As recently as May 2024, Colbeck claimed to have proof the voting machines were hacked from Serbia, a false claim amplified on social media by the polling firm Rasmussen Reports.{{cite news |last1=Kessler |first1=Glenn |title=Prominent pollster spreads Dominion voting machine misinformation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/28/leading-pollster-spreads-dominion-voting-machine-misinformation/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=4 October 2024 |date=28 May 2024}}

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Category:1965 births

Category:Living people

Category:Republican Party Michigan state senators

Category:Politicians from Dearborn, Michigan

Category:University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni

Category:21st-century American far-right politicians

Category:American critics of Islam

Category:American conspiracy theorists

Category:American nationalists

Category:21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature