The state and nation will be watching the Republican primary to replace Congressman Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, as two well-funded front-runners have been dropping the gloves in mailers and television ads leading up to the election.
It will be the first time in 19 years there is an open seat in Northern Michigan and Republicans hope to flip it back their way in the fall.
Sen. Jason Allen, a long-time Northern Michigan political player from Alanson, will face newcomer Dan Benishek, a surgeon from Crystal Falls, for the Republican nomination.
Allen has been running strong since joining the race in the spring, but Benishek has been riding a tidal wave of anti-Stupak sentiment that has brought him cash from outside the district and Tea Party support.
For Benishek to win, he will have to pull together both Tea Party voters and independents to get over Allen's name recognition and endorsements from groups such as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
Die-hard supporters could also divide the vote with Tea Party Republican Tom Stillings of Torch Lake Township, five-time Republican candidate Don Hooper, Linda Goldthorpe and self-described GOP "everyman" Patrick Donlon of St. Ignace also in the hunt.
The winner will face term-limited Michigan Rep. Gary McDowell, D-Rudyard, who is expected to be a fierce pro-life, pro-second amendment competitor come November.
Showing posts with label Republican primary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Republican primary. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Spirited Arizona governor spurts to big lead in primary election
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, following her signing and passionate defense of the state’s new immigration law, now claims 45% of the vote in the state’s Republican Primary field. That’s a 19-point gain from a month ago and puts her well ahead of all her challengers.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely GOP Primary Voters in Arizona shows State Treasurer Dean Martin and businessman Buz Mills each attracting 18% support. Former state Republican Party Chairman John Munger trails with three percent (3%). Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and 13% are undecided.
Just last month, Brewer held a modest lead with 26% of the primary vote, followed by Mills at 18%, Munger at 14% and Martin with 12%. Twenty-four percent (24%) were undecided.
In March, Brewer, Martin and Mills were in a three-way tie, each attracting about 20% of GOP voters.
Arizona Republicans will pick their gubernatorial nominee in an August 24 primary.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely GOP Primary Voters in Arizona shows State Treasurer Dean Martin and businessman Buz Mills each attracting 18% support. Former state Republican Party Chairman John Munger trails with three percent (3%). Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and 13% are undecided.
Just last month, Brewer held a modest lead with 26% of the primary vote, followed by Mills at 18%, Munger at 14% and Martin with 12%. Twenty-four percent (24%) were undecided.
In March, Brewer, Martin and Mills were in a three-way tie, each attracting about 20% of GOP voters.
Arizona Republicans will pick their gubernatorial nominee in an August 24 primary.
Friday, April 23, 2010
In Florida the Tea Party gets the arrows, but it's a reform agenda that drives Rubio's success
Marco Rubio appeared on a Sunday talk show this month to say something remarkable. The Republican running for Florida's Senate seat suggested we reform Social Security by raising the retirement age for younger workers. Florida is home to 2.4 million senior citizens who like to vote. The blogs declared Mr. Rubio politically suicidal.
The response from Mr. Rubio's primary competitor, Gov. Charlie Crist, was not remarkable. His campaign slammed Mr. Rubio's idea as "cruel, unusual and unfair to seniors living on a fixed income." Mr. Crist's plan for $17.5 trillion in unfunded Social Security liabilities? Easy! He'll root out "fraud" and "waste."
Let's talk Republican "civil war." Not the one the media is hawking, that pits supposed tea party fanatics like Mr. Rubio against supposed "moderates" like Mr. Crist. The Republican Party is split. But the real divide is between reformers like Mr. Rubio and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who are running on principles and tough issues, and a GOP old guard that still finds it politically expedient to duck or demagogue issues. As Republicans look for a way out of the wilderness, this is the rift that matters.
And it's the divide playing out in Florida, even if that's not the press's preferred narrative. In conventional-wisdom world, Mr. Rubio is the darling of an angry grass roots, surging at the expense of the postpartisan Mr. Crist.
The response from Mr. Rubio's primary competitor, Gov. Charlie Crist, was not remarkable. His campaign slammed Mr. Rubio's idea as "cruel, unusual and unfair to seniors living on a fixed income." Mr. Crist's plan for $17.5 trillion in unfunded Social Security liabilities? Easy! He'll root out "fraud" and "waste."
Let's talk Republican "civil war." Not the one the media is hawking, that pits supposed tea party fanatics like Mr. Rubio against supposed "moderates" like Mr. Crist. The Republican Party is split. But the real divide is between reformers like Mr. Rubio and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who are running on principles and tough issues, and a GOP old guard that still finds it politically expedient to duck or demagogue issues. As Republicans look for a way out of the wilderness, this is the rift that matters.
And it's the divide playing out in Florida, even if that's not the press's preferred narrative. In conventional-wisdom world, Mr. Rubio is the darling of an angry grass roots, surging at the expense of the postpartisan Mr. Crist.
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