Michigan legislative action thread
Posted on 06/25/2015 1:17:14 PM PDT by Darren McCarty
LANSING, MI — Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson is stepping down from his post to run for Congress, setting up a potential showdown with incumbent Republican Rep. Dan Benishek.
Johnson, who has submitted a letter of resignation to the MDP effective July 11, is expected to formally announce his candidacy for the 1st Congressional District this evening in the Upper Peninsula.
State Rep. Brandon Dillon, D-Grand Rapids, is considered a likely candidate to succeed Johnson as party chair when the State Central Committee votes next month. Reports have also placed Oakland County Deputy Clerk Lavora Barnes in the mix.
Johnson, 44, has a home in Kalkaska with his wife, Juliana Smoot, a Democratic fundraiser who served as deputy manager for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.
He ran for the state House out of Kalkaska in 2012 but lost to incumbent Republican Rep. Bruce Rendon by around 2,500 votes. He's raised his profile considerably since that time, however.
The 1st Congressional District, which includes a wide swath of Northern Michigan and all of the UP, is a major target for Democrats, who held the seat before U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak decided against a re-election run in 2010.
Benishek beat Democrat Gary McDowell that year by 11 percentage points but won a 2012 rematch by less than one point. He defeated Democrat Jerry Cannon by roughly 7 percentage points last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlive.com ...
But it’s his turn to gorge himself at the big trough in Washington.
That's a social conservative area up there, but it's also a good government (but not too much) crowd there unless the mining and timber jobs come back.
Benishek has been a disappointment but he’s the horse we’re stuck with.
I didnt vote for ben and wont again. If he thinks he can keep voting for boner he can be sure my vote goes elsewhere.
Dan Benishek appears to be damaged goods and I hope he retires. His empty promises have put this seat in jeopardy unnecessarily.
“Johnson, 44, has a home in Kalkaska with his wife, Juliana Smoot, a Democratic fundraiser who served as deputy manager for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
He ran for the state House out of Kalkaska in 2012 but lost to incumbent Republican Rep. Bruce Rendon by around 2,500 votes. He’s raised his profile considerably since that time, however.”
This Johnson fellow won’t beat Benishek unless Benishek *really* messes up. Yes, the MI-01 was uncomfortably close in 2012, but it still is a conservative distirct (particularly on sociaal issues). And like 45% or so of the district’s voters live in the Upper Peninsula, and Yoopers won’t vote for someone from Kalkaska against a Yooper like Benishek. In fact, the RATs already ran someone from Kalkaska (a retired general and former county sheriff no less) in 2014 and Benishek won by 7%.
What broken promises? Something besides the term limit thing that I doubt many people care about? That would be a broken promise, singular, one that he shouldn’t have ever made.
Why do so many people hate this guy? Rational people I mean, not people mad that he “voted for Boner”, his party’s unopposed nominee for Speaker.
Anyway, as Auh2 said, a non-Yooper rat ain’t likely to win.
Because he votes to spend more and more. He voted to not shut down the government. When he stops enslaving my kids with debt then maybe I can vote for him.
In other words he is not a conservative but a big government spender.
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