John Pappageorge

John George Pappageorge (July 19, 1931 – June 9, 2026) was an American politician who was a member of the Michigan State Senate in the United States.

Life and career John Pappageorge was born to a Greek family on the east side of Detroit, Michigan, on July 19, 1931.

Pappageorge entered the United States Army after graduating from high school in Detroit, enrolling in the United States Military Academy at West Point. From West Point he received a B.S. in engineering in 1954. He later obtained a M.A. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland in 1971 and attended the U.S. Army War College in 1973.

He served 30 years of active duty in the Infantry, including two combat tours in Vietnam. During the second tour, he served as a battalion commander. There he was highly decorated, including receiving the Distinguished Service Medal, Superior Service Medal, four Legions of Merit, the Bronze Star, nine Air Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross. He is also Airborne, Ranger, and Pathfinder qualified.

Congressional campaigns

1992 election In 1992, he ran for the United States House of Representatives against Sander Levin. This was the first serious Republican opposition against Levin, after his congressional district absorbed a Republican-leaning spur of Oakland County in redistricting. Levin won by 7%.

1994 election Pappageorge ran against Levin for the second time in 1994, this time managing to pull within 5%, despite being outspent more than 3-to-1. Pappageorge benefitted from Newt Gingrich's Contract with America and the 1994 Republican Revolution.

1996 election In his third consecutive run against Levin, he was not able to shore up as much support, losing 57.4%-40.5%.

Michigan House of Representatives Pappageorge served in the Michigan State House of Representatives from 1999 to 2004, when he retired due to term limits. He spent four years on the House Appropriations Committee, and served his final two years as Chair of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and as a member of the Employment Relations, Training and Safety Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Senior Health, Security, and Retirement Committee, and the Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Committee.

2006 State Senate campaign Pappageorge was persuaded by the Michigan Republican Party to run for the 13th District State Senate seat after Congressman Sander Levin's son, Andy Levin announced he was going to enter the race. After Pappageorge joined the race, Gosselin dropped out in order to run for County Commissioner in Troy. Pappageorge won the August Republican primary 58.5% to Taub's 41.5%.

Charges of mudslinging and dirty politics continued in the general election between Pappageorge and Levin. The race became hotly contested, with over $2 million spent by the two campaigns, and with negative television ads from each side (a rarity in State Senate races in metro-Detroit).

The Michigan Republican Party, on behalf of Pappageorge's campaign, distributed flyers alleging that Levin had stances on issues, including same-sex marriage, illegal immigration and gun control, that were too liberal for the district. They also accused Levin of being a carpetbagger, as Levin had recently moved back to Michigan after working for the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C. Levin's campaign fired back, claiming that Pappageorge cut more than $500 million from schools in Michigan and was fired from the Bush Presidential campaign in 2004.

Pappageorge defeated Levin in November by a slim margin, 776 votes. Pappageorge's margin of victory was less than the number of votes obtained by Green Party candidate Kyle McBee, who received 3,118 votes.

2010 State Senate campaign In the 2010 election, Pappageorge was the only incumbent in Oakland County to seek re-election. He defeated two challengers in the August 3 primary.

In the general election, Pappageorge was challenged by newcomer Aaron Bailey, a West Point graduate and Afghanistan veteran. Days before the election, Bailey received the endorsement of the Detroit Free Press.

On election day, Pappageorge defeated Bailey.