Ronald Reagan in 1988
George H. W. Bush in 1991
Governorship Engler's administration was characterized by
privatization of state services, income tax reduction, a sales tax increase, educational reform, welfare reform, and major reorganization of
executive branch departments. In 1996, he was elected chairman of the
Republican Governors Association, and in 2001, he was elected to head the National Governors Association. In 2002, near the end of his final term, Engler and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality attempted to negotiate a consent order with
Dow Chemical that would have resulted in a ninefold increase in the allowable levels of dioxins. The consent order would have resulted in Dow not having to pay to clean up high levels of toxins in
Midland, Michigan, near its plant there, as well as in the
Tittabawassee flood plain, which had been contaminated by dioxins dumped into the river from the facility and from overflow from waste ponds. The consent order fell through in late 2002. However, Dole instead selected
Jack Kemp, a former representative and
HUD secretary.
2000 Engler endorsed Texas Governor
George W. Bush in the 2000 Republican primary. After Bush secured the GOP nomination, Engler's name was again floated as a possible running mate. In his book
Decision Points, Bush says that Engler was someone he was "close" with and could "work well with." Ultimately, Engler was passed over for the running mate position in favor of
Dick Cheney. After the election, Engler's close political ally
Spencer Abraham, who narrowly lost his re-election bid for the Senate to
Debbie Stabenow, was chosen as Bush's Secretary of Energy.
2002 elections Engler's lieutenant governor,
Dick Posthumus, sought to succeed Engler in the 2002 gubernatorial race. Posthumus lost the race to the state's attorney general, Democrat
Jennifer Granholm.
Election results In 1990, Engler, then the state senate majority leader, challenged Governor
James Blanchard in his bid for a third term. Political observers viewed his bid as a long shot, and he trailed Blanchard by double digits in the polls the weekend before the election. However, on election day, Engler pulled off the upset, defeating Blanchard by approximately 17,000 votes—a margin of less than one percentage point. In 1994, Engler ran for his second term. The Democrats nominated former Representative
Howard Wolpe, who had close ties to the labor movement—a potent force in Democratic politics in Michigan. Engler bested Wolpe 61 to 39 percent, and the state Republican Party made significant gains.
Spencer Abraham picked up the Senate seat of retiring Democrat
Donald Riegle. Republicans gained a seat to break a tie in the state House of Representatives, taking a 56–54 majority, while also picking up a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican
Candice Miller won an upset victory to win the post of Secretary of State. Michigan voters re-elected Engler to his third and final term in 1998. He won a landslide victory over lawyer
Geoffrey Fieger. Engler took 1,883,005 votes—62 percent of the total—to Fieger's 38 percent and 1,143,574 votes. Engler's landslide helped the state Republican Party gain six seats in the state House of Representatives, taking control of the chamber they had lost two years previously with a 58–52 margin, as well as picking up an additional seat in the State Senate, for a 23–15 majority. Republicans also gained a seat on the technically non-partisan state Supreme Court, holding a 4–3 majority over the Democrats.
Electoral history After governorship After leaving the governor's mansion in January 2003, Engler served as president of the state and local government sector of
Electronic Data Systems. Engler left that position in June 2004 to be elected president and CEO of the
National Association of Manufacturers. Engler's tenure at the NAM ended in January 2011. In January 2011, Engler was named president of the
Business Roundtable. with (left to right):
Tom Pickering, John Engler and
John Breaux at the presentation of final report of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Transformational Diplomacy in 2008 In 2017, Engler was appointed to a four-year term on the governing board of the
National Assessment of Educational Progress project.
Interim presidency of Michigan State University On January 30, 2018, Engler was named the interim president of
Michigan State University to replace
Lou Anna Simon, who was embroiled with the school in the
USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal involving
Larry Nassar. The appointment of Engler sparked controversy due to his previous handling of sexual misconduct as governor of Michigan. Engler's tenure as interim president was plagued by controversies, brought on by Engler's apparent callous statements and actions toward survivors during Board of Trustees meetings and statements that were reported by the press. One of Nassar's victims,
Rachael Denhollander, said Engler "chose to stand against every child and every sexual assault victim in the entire state, to protect an institution." Engler resigned on January 16, 2019 after the Board of Trustees indicated its intent to ask him to resign following a series of embarrassing incidents regarding Nassar's victims and his responses to issues in the aftermath. Engler initially indicated he planned to resign on January 23, 2019 but the Board required him to resign the morning after he submitted his resignation letter. ==Personal life==