Posted on 08/04/2004 3:48:09 AM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Ramsey loses Republican primary for Michigan House seat
By AMY F. BAILEY
The Associated Press
8/4/2004, 5:07 a.m. ET
DETROIT (AP) — John Ramsey, father of slain child beauty queen JonBenet, received a lot of attention from the national media for his state House campaign, but it wasn't enough to win the Republican primary.
The former businessman from Charlevoix came in behind Bellaire attorney Kevin Elsenheimer in Tuesday's Republican primary for the 105th state House District, which covers Antrim, Charlevoix, Otsego and Cheboygan counties.
But Ramsey wasn't willing to give up Tuesday night before results were in from all precincts in the district.
"This race is really too close to either claim victory or concede defeat," he said, standing with his wife Patsy outside his campaign headquarters in Charlevoix.
Ramsey didn't have any immediate comment after the votes were counted.
With all precincts reporting, Ramsey had 24 percent of the vote, or 4,684 votes. Elsenheimer had 27 percent, or 5,194 votes and Craig Ryan, former aide to incumbent Ken Bradstreet, had 22 percent, or 4,164 votes. Bradstreet can't run for re-election because of term limits.
"I think people are definitely voting for the local person," Elsenheimer said Tuesday night.
Ramsey and his family have had a summer place in Charlevoix since 1992 but only became full-time residents last fall.
Otsego County commissioner Jeff Garfield had 15 percent, or 2,950 votes, Kewadin resident Bonnie Nothoff had 8 percent — 1,572 votes — and Charlevoix resident Jack Apol had 4 percent, or 695 votes, in the GOP contest.
In the general election, Elsenheimer will face off against Democrat Jim McKimmy, of Kewadin, who received 55 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary. Democrat Greg Dean of Elmira received 45 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting.
The House is the only legislative chamber up for election this year, since senators don't face re-election until 2006.
A few incumbent state representatives had tough primary contests, including two Republicans who voted against a measure that would have asked voters this fall whether to amend the state constitution to limit marriage to one man and one woman.
Reps. Leon Drolet of Macomb County's Clinton Township and Lorence Wenke of Richland were up against candidates who made the gay marriage issue a central theme of their races.
The race between Wenke and former Rep. Jerry Vander Roest of Galesburg for the 63rd House District was too close to call early Wednesday. With all precincts reporting, each candidate had half the vote — Wenke with 6,123 votes and Vander Roest with 6,058.
Amy Hagerstrom, a consultant for Vander Roest's campaign, said he hadn't decided whether to ask for a recall late Tuesday night.
"We're waiting for the dust to settle before any decisions are made," she said. "At this point it looks like Mr. Wenke may have won. Overall, Jerry is pleased with the fact that he sent a very clear message to Mr. Wenke ... that the district isn't being represented the way it should."
Wenke said he wasn't ready to declare victory early Wednesday.
"I was prepared to lose. I've been so prepared to lose that I can hardly celebrate," he said.
Drolet had a tough opponent for the 33rd House District in Republican Maria Carl, the well-known widow of the late Republican state Sen. Doug Carl. Other GOP candidates in the primary were Linda Miller and Colleen Saputo.
With 81 percent of the precincts reporting early Wednesday, Drolet had 61 percent, or 3,899 votes, and Carl had 26 percent, or 1,688 votes. Miller had 536 votes, or 8 percent, and Saputo had 283 votes, or 4 percent.
I would have thought he'd be a shoe in for Congress with that whole murder thing...
errrr.. "mysterious death" I mean...
only if he was a democrat
True, so true. They wasted alot of money hiding what probably was an accident or discipline that went wrong.
I thought conviction without a trial or even an arrest was a liberal thing. My bad.
OK, everyone--theory time!
What happened that cold night in Colorado?
What's amazing is that 4682 others voted for him.
The little girl wet her bed and Mom lost it.
No...It's a freedom of expression thing.
Or, are you saying that those who are expressing their opinions on this case (Using common sense) are literally convicting him and then throwing him in jail??
I'll bet you think protesting against some obnoxious mouth like Whoopie Goldberg, and getting her fired from Slimfast is "Denying her freedom of speech"???
Good that Ramsey lost. That guy gives me the creeps. I think he only ran in order to validate himself.
You can't be so ignorant as to believe I mean that, right ?
I'll bet you think protesting against some obnoxious mouth like Whoopie Goldberg, and getting her fired from Slimfast is "Denying her freedom of speech"???
I'm not the one who started talking about denying people freedom of speech, YOU were. So I would ask you the same question.
(Using common sense)
Common sense is not so common, I have found. I don't believe the Ramsey's are guilty of anything.
Hope Wenke gets the message. I doubt it, though. He's quoted in the BC Enquirer as saying he'd vote the same way again.
"The little girl wet her bed and Mom lost it."
Yup, mommy couldn't have a "bed wetting beauty queen". Momslife was wrapped up in her daughter being everything she wasn't.
I guess he killed his political career, just like he killed his . . .
nevermind.
I think Wenke would have lost had it not been for his opponent 'asking an undercover cop/prostitute for directions'.
I see people on TV whining about "Convicting so-and-so before the jury has made their decision", and then I also see people whining about "Supressing the freedom of speech of individuals" though boycots or pressure on sponsors of said individuals.
And I consider them both in the EXACT same light: Ignorant whining by harpies who are over-exagerating the situation to the EXTREME. The ONLY thing that is happening is that others are expressing their individual freedoms through commentary and/or actions.
What jury ?? What decision ?? Hey guess what, here's a news flash - in the Ramsey case, THERE WEREN'T ANY !
Again...Those who comment on such cases KNOW THAT! But the harpies are the ones who state "I didn't know he had been convicted of anything".
I don't care if he's been convicted or even tried or even interviewed! The people have the right to judge him any way they see fit. And if that means he loses a primary due to it, sobeit!!!
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