Tuesday’s 2014 Primary Election had observers
paying close attention to a number of themes: how Tea Party affiliated
candidates would perform against more GOP “establishment” candidates in open House and Senate seats; how Tea
Party affiliated challengers would
perform against incumbent House and Senate members in GOP primary races; who
would rise above the field in crowded Democratic primary races for both open
seats and those with incumbents. When most races were considered final as the
clock changed to the early hours of Wednesday morning, the results painted a
mixed picture, the implications of which will remain to be seen through 2015
and on.
By-and-large, incumbent “establishment” GOP
officeholders claimed victories over their Tea Party affiliated challengers in
both House and Senate races. State Senator Mike Green (R-Mayville) held off a
challenge from State Representative Kevin Daley (R-Lum) in the 31st
Senate District. Senator Mike Kowall (R-White Lake Township) handily beat Tea
Party challenger Matt Maddock in his race to retain the 15th Senate
District seat. Senator Goeff Hansen (R-Hart) also ran up the score against
challenger Nick Sundquist in the 34th District.
Among House GOP incumbents facing Tea Party
challengers, State Representative Frank Foster (R-Petoskey) was the one
exception, falling to challenger Lee Chatfield in the 107th House
District. State Representative Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Township) prevailed in the
39th House District over challenger Deb O’Hagan with 54.95 percent
of the vote. In the 46th House District, Representative Brad
Jacobsen (R-Oxford) took 55.97 percent of the vote in his victory over
challenger John Reilly. Representative Dave Pagel (R-Berrien Springs) won huge
in the 78th District, taking nearly 76 percent of the vote over
challenger Jim Walker, and Representative Al Pscholka (R-Stevensville) set back
critics by taking nearly 65 percent of the vote over challenger Cindy Duran.
Likewise, Representative Lisa Posthumus Lyons (R-Alto) was victorious over her
challenger Angela Rigas.
In competitive GOP primaries for open State
Senate seats, the more moderate of candidates appeared to win every race. In
one of the more heated races, State Representative Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse
City) took 55 percent of the vote in his defeat of Representative Greg
MacMaster in the 37th Senate GOP Primary for a chance to replace
outgoing Senator Howard Walker. Likewise, Representative Pete MacGregor
(R-Cannon Township) was victorious over former Representative Kevin Green to
replace outgoing Senator Mark Jansen (R-Gaines) in the 28th
District. Representative MacGregor has a margin of victory of nearly 10,000
votes.
In likely the closest race of the night – so
close a recount may be filed – former State Representative Marty Knollenberg,
the more mainstream Republican, beat former Representative Andrew “Rocky”
Raczkowski by 72 votes. Former Representative Chuck Moss came in a distant
third in the race for the GOP nod to replace outgoing Senator John Pappageorge
(R-Troy).
In less competitive races, incumbent State
Senators Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton Township), Tory Rocca (R-Sterling Heights),
and Jim Marleau (R-Lake Orion) beat their challengers (although not necessarily
Tea Party affiliated challengers), and State Representative Margaret O’Brien
(R-Portage) won the GOP Primary for the 20th Senate District GOP
nomination.
Tea Party affiliated or supported candidates
had more success in GOP primary races for open House seats, giving the Tea
Party movement something to hang their hat on. Most significantly, Todd Courser
of Burlington Township won the GOP nomination over establishment candidate Jan
Peabody by 351 votes; Gary Glenn of Midland defeated Karl Ieuter of Sanford in
the 98th District GOP primary; and Cindy Gamrate of Plainwell took
the nomination in the 80th House District over Mary Whiteford. Mr.
Courser and Mr. Glenn have been flag bearers for the Tea Party movement in
Michigan and were considered among the GOP establishment’s top concerns in the
Primary.
Additionally, Jim Runestad of White Lake
Township in the 44th House District, Triston Cole of Mancelona in
the 105th House District, Jim Tedder of Clarkston in the 43rd
House District, and Lana Theis of Brighton Township in the 42nd
House District all won and while these candidates more-or-less rejected the Tea
Party label and had some GOP
establishment support, philosophically align more closely with the Tea Party.
In the majority of open House district GOP
primaries, however, establishment candidates carried the day. Daniela Garcia of
Holland took the victory in the 90th House District over Geoff
Haveman of Hudsonville; Donijo DeJonge of Grand Rapids won the right to take on
Representative Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) in the 76th House
District by defeating Tea Party candidate Keith Allard; and significantly, one
of the Tea Party’s Michigan movement founders Wendy Day of Howell was defeated
by Hank Vaupel of Handy Township in the 47th House District.
Other races where notable Tea Party
candidates were defeated include Peter Lucido’s victory over Stan Grot in the
36th House District primary, Kathy Crawford’s victory over Dan
Lauffer in the 38th District primary, and Michael Webber of
Rochester Hills prevailing in the 45th House seat.
Another significant Tea Party victory came in
the 3rd U.S. House District GOP Primary where Congressman Justin
Amash (R-Cascade Township) was successful in fighting off the challenge of
establishment favorite Brian Ellis. Congressman Amash won handily and spared no
punches in his victory speech – making point of not accepting the conceding
phone call from Mr. Ellis.
The reverse was true in the primary for the
11th U.S. House seat where U.S. Representative Kerry Bentivolio
(R-Milford) was routed by businessman David Trott by a 32 point margin.
Congressman Bentivolio, often dubbed the “accidental Congressman,” was elected
when then-U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter failed to make the ballot due to petition
irregularities.
In the other GOP primaries for the U.S. House
of Representatives, State Senator John Moolenaar defeated self-funding business
man Paul Mitchell in the 4th District to replace retiring
Congressman Dave Camp (R-Midland). Mr. Mitchell contributed $5.5 million of his
own wealth to his race and attracted big names among Republican campaign staff
and consultants. However, he was unable to translate that into a victory over
Senator Moolenaar who enjoyed the support of much of the Republican
establishment, including associations, Mr. Camp, and Michigan Attorney General
Bill Schuette.
In the 8th U.S. House seat, where
Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) is leaving, former Senate Majority Leader
Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) had a huge win over State Representative Tom McMillin
(R-Rochester), with 60 percent of the vote – a margin of 12,000 votes. He will
now face Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing in the November General
Election.
On the Democratic side of the Primary, much
attention was being paid to two Democratic State Senators being challenged and
a couple of competitive primaries in open Senate seats – but one of the big
stories of the night came in the form of a Democratic Primary not thought to be
competitive.
Cyndi Peltonen, a former Clawson School Board
member, defeated favorite Ryan Fishman in the 13th State Senate
Democratic Primary to take on GOP winner Marty Knollenberg. Although the vast
majority of endorsements and party support went to Mr. Fishman, Ms. Peltonen
received the endorsement of the United Auto Workers and, in the end, it appears
that Mr. Fishman’s focus on attracting moderates and laying the groundwork for
success in November caused his defeat in August.
Senator Vincent Gregory (D-Southfield) won a
narrow victory over two challengers in his effort to keep his 11th
State Senate District. State Representatives Vicki Barnett (D-Farmington) and
Ellen Cogen Lipton (D-Huntington Woods) both entered the race when Senator
Gregory temporarily decided to run for the U.S. Congress. Neither withdrew as
the filing deadline approached, setting up the three-way primary – which all
sides and observers noted was a hard-fought and very clean campaign.
In one of the more interesting and later
races called, Senator Virgil Smith (D-Detroit) was victorious over a challenge
from State Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) in one of the more
contentious races for the 4th State Senate Democratic nod. With 100
percent of precincts reporting, the Wayne County Clerk’s office and many news
outlets had called the race for Representative Tlaib; however, absentee ballots
from Detroit had not-yet been counted and Senator Smith ended up pulling ahead
to keep his seat.
Representative David Knezek (D-Dearborn
Heights) pulled out a victory in the Democratic Primary to replace outgoing
Senator Tupac Hunter (D-Detroit) over a crowded field that included Rep.
Knezek’s House colleagues Representative David Nathan (D-Detroit), Thomas
Stallworth III (D-Detroit) and former Rep. Shanelle Jackson (D-Detroit). The
race grew contentious between Representatives Knezek and Nathan, with Nathan
going as far as filing paperwork in a Wayne County District Court to have
Dearborn Heights absentee ballots disqualified over alleged irregularities;
however, most observers will say it was likely the three way split of the
Detroit vote that put Representative Knezek over the top. In fact, Ms. Jackson
ended up finishing ahead of Rep. Nathan, who ended the night in a distant third
place.
As expected in the 32nd Senate
District Democratic Primary, Representative Stacey Erwin Oakes (D-Saginaw) won
the chance to take on former Representative Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth) in the
November General by defeating party organizer Garnet Lewis by over 4,000 votes.
Also, State Senator Bert Johnson (D-Highland Park) held off a challenge from
Representative John Olumba (I-Detroit) to keep his 2nd Senate
District seat in a landslide victory of 40 percentage points.
For the U.S. House seat being vacated by
Congressman Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) due to his U.S. Senate run,
Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence was able to squeak out a victory over State
Representative Rudy Hobbs by some 2,500 votes (with over 51,000 total votes
cast). Representative Hobbs enjoyed the vast majority of endorsements in the
race, and had a huge fundraising edge; however, former U.S. Congressman Hansen
Clarke’s presence on the ballot (and ultimate third place finish) likely did
Hobbs no favors in the ultimate outcome. Ms. Lawrence will be the huge favorite
to win in the November General Election.
Finally, State Representative Harvey Santana
(D-Detroit) trounced his primary challenger Hussein Berry of Dearborn with
nearly 75 percent of the vote, while State Representative Brian Banks
(D-Detroit) barely held onto his seat by defeating challenger Rebecca Thompson of
Detroit by roughly 500 votes.
Moving back to the GOP Primaries for the
Michigan House of Representatives, some further outcomes in races of note
include:
- 27-year-old teacher Aaron Miller of Sturgis surprised a crowded field of more experienced candidates in the 59th District and will be heavily favored to replace outgoing Rep. Matt Lori (R-Constantine). John Bippus of Three Rivers was arguable the favorite with the endorsements of the Michigan Farm Bureau AgriPAC and Right to Life of Michigan; however, Mr. Miller ended up winning by 9 percentage points.
- Brett Roberts, a Dairy Queen owner and farmer from Eaton Township, rose above a crowded field in the 65th House District GOP Primary to replace Representative Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) who departed for a State Senate run.
- Certified Public Accountant and Grand Rapids Township Treasurer Chris Afendoulis won the race in the 73rd House District to replace Rep. Pete MacGregor who is also departing the House for the Senate. Afendoulis ended the night with 4,895 votes, a significant margin over his closest competitor Robert “R.J.” Regan who ended with 2,653 votes in the seven-way primary.
- Three candidates finished within 225 votes of each other in the 104th House District GOP Primary to replace Representative Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City), but it was Grand Traverse County Commissioner Larry Inman of Williamsburg who ended the night on top. Rob Hentschel and Isaiah Wunsch, both of Traverse City, finished second and third, respectively.
- Ed Canfield, a family doctor from Sebewaing, beat an eight-person field in the 84th House District GOP race that included former Representative Kurt Damrow, who finished a distant fourth.
- Deli owner Frank Liberati of Allen Park took more than 56 percent of the vote over favorite Tony Trupiano in the 13th House District Primary, who took only 28 percent.
- Julie Plawecki of Dearborn Heights beat an eight-person field in the 11th House District Primary.
- Representative Thomas Stallworth’s wife, Nicole Wells Stallworth, was defeated by LaTanya Garrett of Detroit in the 7th House District by less than 200 votes.
- Roseville Mayor John Chirkun won by a landslide in the 22nd House seat to replace outgoing Representative Harold Haugh (D-Roseville) by taking more than 70 percent of the vote.
- Brownstown Township Supervisor Andy Linko lost to David Haener of New Boston by 30 votes in the 23rd House District Democratic Primary for a right to take on Republican Representative Pat Somerville (R-New Boston) in the November General.