Continuing last week’s coverage, here are the
races to watch in 2014 in the State Senate and U.S. House:
State Senate
Redistricting due to population lost in
Southeast Michigan has moved a district from Democratic Wayne County to
Republican West Michigan. Democrats believe they have a strong shot at the 13th,
25th, 32nd, and 34th districts. Senator
Vincent Gregory (D-Southfield) will face off against two high-profile state
representatives. Senator Gregory had originally intended to run for Congress,
but instead is running for re-election. Senator Virgil Smith (D-Detroit) will
also have to face a challenger in Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit).
Democrats hope Representative Dian Slavens
(D-Canton Township) can defeat Senator Patrick Colbeck (R-Colbeck) in the 7th
Senate District, and Representative Sean McCann will be a strong competitor in
the 20th according Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East
Lansing).
2nd District
Senator Bert Johnson (D-Highland Park) and
Representative John Olumba (I-Detroit) are facing off for the 2nd
Senate District. They are joined by the wife of former Representative Lamar
Lemmons III, Georgia Lemmons, as well as Taras Nykoriak of Hamtramck.
4th District
Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) will
face incumbent Senator Virgil Smith (D-Detroit) for the Democratic nomination.
Candidate Howard Worthy has also filed, but is not seen as a true contender.
5th District
Representative David Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights)
is running against former Representative Shanelle Jackson, Representative David
Nathan (D-Detroit), and Representative Thomas Stallworth III (D-Detroit) for
the 5th District. Two other Democratic candidates from Redford have
also filed. RepresentativeKnezek could possibly benefit from Detroiters
splitting their votes between RepresentativeNathan, RepresentativeStallworth,
and Ms. Jackson.
7th District
State Senator Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton
Township) will face off against Representative Dian Slavens (D-Canton
Township). The district is Republican leaning, but Senator Colbeck’s tea party
voting record has Republicans concerned.
11th District
With Senator Vincent Gregory (D-Southfield)
opting out of a congressional race and running for re-election, the stage is
set for an extremely competitive primary with names like Representative Vicki
Barnett (D-Farmington Hills) and Representative Ellen Cogen Lipton
(D-Huntington Woods) in the race.
13th District
Former House members Marty Knollenberg, Chuck
Moss, and Andrew “Rocky’ Raczkowski along with Attorney Ethan Baker are all
vying for the 13th Senate District Republican nomination. Current
Representative Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills) had been running for the race
but has since changed his focus to run for the U.S. House as highlighted last
week. Also in the GOP primary is Al Gui, who has filed paperwork indicating he
plans to spend less than $1,000 on the race. Ryan Fishman, who is well funded
and well connected, and Cyndi Peltonen of Clawson are facing off for the
Democratic nomination.
16th
District
Not necessarily one to watch as much as one
to note as Representative Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) has no challenger in the
safe Republican seat being vacated by Senator Bruce Caswell (R-Hillsdale) and
is measuring his new Senate office for curtains.
17th District
Democratic former Representative Doug Spade
of Adrian will face off against current RepresentativeDale Zorn (R-Ida) in a
likely competitive race to fill the vacancy left by the term-limited Senate
Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe).
20th District
Former RepresentativeLorence Wenke declined
to participate in the August Republican primary battle for the 20th
Senate District race, and will instead be on the ballot as a member of the
Libertarian Party. Mr. Wenke cited his belief that Republican party discriminates
against homosexuals as among his reasons for doing so. Mr. Wenke’s party change
clears the path for RepresentativeMargaret O’Brien (R-Portage) for the
Republican nomination.
23th District
Again not likely a competitive race here as
Ingham County Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel, Jr. is considered a shoo-in to
win the Democratic Party’s nomination and succeed Senate Minority Leader
Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing), who cannot seek re-election due to term
limits.
25th District
Reprensentative Terry Brown (D-Pigeon) hopes
to unseat incumbent Senator Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair) in the thumb. RepresentativeBrown
has a history of doing well in GOP leaning districts, but the race should prove
challenging.
28th District
Representative Peter MacGregor (R-Cannon
Township) and former Representative
Kevin Green of Cedar Springs are the only two individuals left in the
GOP primary race for the 28th Senate District seat. MacGregor
remains the early favorite for the nomination.
31st District
Representative Kevin Daley (R-Lum) seeks to
unseat incumbent Senator Mike Green (R-Mayville) in a GOP Primary. RepresentativeDaley
is forgoing re-election to challenge Senator Green, hoping his home base of
Lapeer County, foreign territory for Senator Green, will win him the
nomination. Newcomer Ron Mindykowski of Bay City will be the Democratic nominee
in the Republican-leaning district.
32nd District
As Senator Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw Township) is
vacating his seat due to term limits, Democrats are gearing up to take over the
32nd, which has seen an increasingly Democratic make-up in recent
years. Former Representative Ken Horn of Saginaw Township will face the winner
of the Democratic primary between RepresentativeStacy Erwin Oakes (D-Saginaw)
and Democratic organizer Garnet Lewis of Freeland.
34th District
Senator Goeff Hansen (R-Hart) is facing a
more Democratic seat thanks to redistricting, and Oceana County Road
Commissioner Cathy Forbes is receiving the full support of the Democratic
Party. First Senator Hansen must face tea party challenger Nick Sundquist in
the primary.
37th District
Representative Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse
City) and Representative Greg McMaster (R-Kewadin) are facing off in the top
Republican primary in the state for the 37th Senate district seat.
U.S. Congress
1st District
U.S. Rep Dan Benishek (R-Crystal Falls) will
face a primary challenge from Alan Arcand of Iron River, an indication that the
tea party is less supportive of the incumbent than it was when he first ran.
However the true challenge will be in the general election against former
Kalkaska County Sheriff Jerry Cannon in this key seat.
3rd
District
Bob Goodrich of Kentwood will be the
Democratic nominee for the 3rd Congressional District. The seat is a
Republican one, though, and the primary between incumbent U.S. RepresentativeJustin
Amash (R-Cascade Township) and Grand Rapids businessman Brian Ellis should be
the main event.
4th District
State Senator John Moolenaar (R-Midland),
Paul Mitchell, and Peter Konetchy will face off in a GOP primary, and Jeff
Holmes of Alma will be the Democratic nominee in the race to replace retiring
Congressman Dave Camp (R-Midland).
7th
District
Incumbent U.S. RepresentativeTim Walberg
(R-Tipton) and former State Representative Pam Byrnes will face off with heavy
national backing on both sides. First, Congressman Walberg must face a primary
challenge from Douglas North of Jackson, who claims the Congressman is not
conservative enough.
8th District
Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing is
still likely to be the lead in the Democratic primary, but will face former state
demographer Ken Darga, Central Michigan University professor Susan
Grettenberger and East Lansing attorney Jeffrey Hank on the way. The race to
watch, however, is for the GOP nomination where former Senate Majority Leader
Mike Bishop and current State Representative Tom McMillin (R-Rochester) are
battling.
11th District
Bobby McKenzie, Anil Kumar, Bill Roberts, and
Nancy Skinner will face off against one another in the Democratic primary for
the 11th District. Democratic leaders believe the winner of the
primary should have a realistic shot against the winner of the GOP primary
between incumbent U.S. RepresentativeKerry Bentivolio (R-Milford) or attorney
David Trott, who has raised more than all other congressional candidates in the
state.
14th
District
In what was probably the biggest development
of the season, former U.S. RepresentativeHansen Clarke announced very near the
deadline that he would run for the 14th U.S. House District. His
comeback announcement came as a surprise, as Mr. Clarke had declined to comment
for several months on his intentions. Mr. Clarke lost to U.S. RepresentativeGary
Peters in the Democratic primary in 2012. A race that was formerly
between RepresentativeRudy Hobbs (D-Southfield) and Southfield Mayor Brenda
Lawrence is now up in the air.