Former Michigan state Reps. Cindy Gamrat (R) and Todd Courser (R) aren't getting back their former seats after losing in a Republican primary election on Tuesday.
Republicans Mary Whiteford and Gary Howell were poised to instead advance to the general election in Michigan.
In August, The Detroit News published recordings that exposed Courser's plan to leak a fake email alleging he had solicited sex from a male prostitute, a rumor he apparently hoped would cover up his affair with Gamrat while they were members of the Michigan House of Representatives. The news prompted the nonpartisan House Business Office to launch an investigation into the two lawmakers' activities.
Gamrat was expelled from office in September. Six days after she was removed from office, she filed to run in the primary election for her seat.
Courser resigned from his former seat just before Gamrat was expelled, when it was clear there was enough consensus among his colleagues to expel him as well.
"I put everybody through a whole bunch -- across the state, my own family, the constituents, the people in this room," Courser told reporters. "Whether it was the third vote or the fourth vote or the fifth vote, they were going to eventually get me."
Courser told CNN in September he would run for his former seat, saying his wife encouraged him to do so.
The lawmakers' former aide, Josh Cline, accused Courser and Gamrat of creating a "hostile and untenable work environment" during a press conference in August, saying the two "showed a complete disrespect" toward staffers.
According to the Detroit Free Press, 11 Republicans and three Democratic candidates ran in Courser’s district, and eight Republicans and one Democratic candidate ran in Gamrat's.
A general election to fill both seats is scheduled for March 8, 2016.
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