Background
McDowell was born and raised on a farm in Rudyard, Michigan. His father was a John Deere salesman and a hay broker.
McDowell was born and raised on a farm in Rudyard, Michigan. His father was a John Deere salesman and a hay broker.
He graduated from Rudyard High School in 1970 and attended Lake Superior State University.
He was elected to three, two-year terms in the and served from January 1, 2005, until January 1, 2011. In 2010 and 2012, he was the Democratic nominee for Michigan"s 1st congressional district against Republican Dan Benishek. He also served on the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors from 1987 until 2004.
He is the oldest of ten children.
His mother was a homemaker. In addition to being a farmer, he was also a United Parcel Service delivery driver for 23 years.
He was a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician for 18 years. Elections
In 2002, he ran for Michigan"s 107th House District, challenging incumbent Republican Scott Shackleton.
He lost 69 percent to 31 percent.
In 2004, Shackleton was term-limited from the Legislature and McDowell decided to run again. Tenure
McDowell introduced 98 bills in six years in the Legislature. He has missed a total of 96 votes.
Committee assignments
2009
House Committee on Appropriations
Community Health subcommittee (Chairman)
Agriculture subcommittee (Vice Chairman)
Higher Education subcommittee
2010
McDowell faced Benishek, independent Glenn Wilson, Libertarian nominee Keith Shelton, Green nominee Ellis Boal, and UST nominee Patrick Lambert in the general election.
Democratic incumbent Baronet Stupak had announced his retirement, leaving this an open seat. 2012
On September 15, 2011, McDowell announced his intent to run against Benishek in the 2012 election.
He has been endorsed by the American Federation of Labor-Congress-Chief Information Officer and the Blue Dog Coalition. McDowell lost his bid to defeat Benishek for a second straight election, losing to the freshman incumbent by less than 2,000 votes of over 347,000 that were cast.
McDowell considered challenging Benishek for a third time in the 2014 elections, but ultimately declined.
Prior to serving in the, McDowell was a member of the Chippewa County Board of Commissioners for 22 years. He defeated Walter North, a former member of the state Senate, 54 percent to 46 percent.