Free Republic

Carl Levin has served in the United States Senate for 30 years and the first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of his re-election bid suggest he’s likely to keep his job. Levin leads Republican state legislator Jack Hoogendyk by a 54% to 37% margin. Levin has won each of his last three re-election bids with 58% to 60% of the vote. He has not faced a serious election threat since 1984.

Republican Jack Hoogendyk may have a clear path to challenge Sen. Carl Levin in November after one of his potential rivals pulled out because of a military commitment. Hoogendyk, a state representative from Kalamazoo, said Friday he was "moving forward with his campaign" after Republican Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski, a major in the U.S. Army Reserves, said he could not continue in the race because he was being sent overseas this year. Levin, who was first elected in 1978, has not drawn a major Republican opponent and party officials acknowledge that he will be difficult to defeat. But Hoogendyk said he...

Next year's U.S. Senate race is looking like it could be a rematch between longtime Democratic incumbent Carl Levin and Republican Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski. Raczkowski spoke briefly Saturday at a Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference luncheon, the usual biennial kickoff for the following year's elections. He didn't commit while he was on the island to running, but says he has set up an exploratory committee and is considering challenging Levin a second time. Another Republican, state Rep. Jack Hoogendyk of Kalamazoo, told The Associated Press by telephone Sunday that he's also considering the race. He said he has received encouragement from...

Hoogendyk runs for governor Tuesday, June 28, 2005 He's traveled from Bad Ax to White Pigeon, forging an iron stomach at sloppy-joe lunches and iron-clad responses on unemployment and gay marriage. State Rep. Jack Hoogendyk wants the GOP nomination for governor in 2006, and he's not afraid to say it in his speeches at Lincoln Day dinners and small-town diners, he told the Kalamazoo Gazette editorial board Monday. Michigan's unemployment rate of 7.1 is two points higher than the national average because its tax policies and regulations are the worst for business in the country, the 49-year-old Texas Township Republican...

All eyes are on race for governor Web-posted Jun 6, 2005 By SVEN GUSTAFSON Of The Oakland Press MACKINAC ISLAND - If there were an overriding theme to this year's Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference, it was that both the state and Detroit face crisis situations. Political and business leaders heard repeatedly that bold thinking, more aggressive marketing and less partisan political stalemates are needed if the state is to right its rapidly sinking ship. And while politically, the Detroit mayoral race figured largest at the 25th annual conference, next year's gubernatorial race gained noteworthy attention at the event....

PORTLAND TOWNSHIP - Voters will not cast ballots to decide the next Michigan governor's race for nearly two years, but the contest is already heating up. Three Republican candidates for the state's highest office spoke at a Lincoln Day Dinner hosted by the Ionia County Republican party Tuesday evening at Wagon Wheel Restaurant near Portland. They were joined by several local and state legislators. All three candidates presented a common theme: Gov. Jennifer Granholm is a weak leader who must be voted out of office. Nancy Cassis, a former three-term state representative and current state senator from Oakland County, faulted...

Two state GOP lawmakers enter race for governor 2/3/2005, 5:51 p.m. ET By DAVID EGGERT The Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Two Republican state lawmakers said Thursday they were running for governor, the first two candidates to enter the race. Sen. Nancy Cassis of Novi and Rep. Jack Hoogendyk of Kalamazoo both criticized Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm for not leading the state through difficult economic times. They are the first Republicans to announce they're challenging Granholm, who faces re-election in 2006. She has not yet officially said she's running, but a "Granholm for Gov." Web site urges supporters to...

Republican state rep `strongly considering' run for governor LANSING, Mich. A one-term Republican state representative says he's "strongly considering" running against Governor Granholm in 2006. Representative Jack Hoogendyk (HOHG'-in-dyk) says Granholm isn't taking care of a number of problems facing the state. The 49-year-old Kalamazoo resident says the governor doesn't seem willing or able to address the issues of economic development. Michigan's unemployment rate improved slightly in October. But the state still has one of the worst jobless rates in the nation. Since he got elected to the state House in 2002, Hoogendyk has become known as a conservative on...