Amid a flurry of political activity with new members moving into Congress and the state Legislature, a few political offices have yet to be filled.
After U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers’ successful bid for Congress, his position in the state Senate has been reopened. Both the Democratic and Republican parties are beginning to look at possible candidates to run for the seat.
“John Cherry, the Democratic Senate leader, has been talking to likely candidates to run for the spot,” said Dennis Denno, a Michigan Democratic Party spokesman. “It’s a tough district, but you never know.”
The district, which includes parts of Livingston, Clinton and Shiawassee counties, is considered by many to be Republican. Both parties expect a better turnout than in past special elections because of the district’s size.
While many Democratic Party members still consider running for the seat, the Republican Party has already discussed three likely candidates, state party Spokesman Sage Eastman said.
Possible candidates include state Reps. Valde Garcia from St. Johns, Judy Scranton from Brighton and Larry Julian from Lennon.
“It’s a pretty solid Republican seat,” Eastman said. “All of the candidates have represented a portion of the district. Usually in these special elections, the people who have served the largest portion of the area will win it.”
Both seats left by Rogers and state Rep. Janet Kukuk, who died after a battle with cancer in November, will have to be filled by a special election. No date has been set, but an announcement regarding a date for the elections is expected from Gov. John Engler in the next few weeks.
Because of the large number of Republican voters in the district, some believe the election will be decided by the GOP’s candidate regardless of voter turnout.
The process is guaranteed to be considerably shorter than an average election, which may mean candidates will have to work harder to get out their views.
Some of the Republican candidates already have set up offices in preparation to run for the available seats.
People who call Garcia’s office in the state House are directed to another number and are greeted by a “Garcia for Senate” employee.
“There’s going to be a lot of Republican issues within the primary,” said Chase Wade, spokesman for Garcia’s campaign. “Education, certainly, will be an issue. The pro-life issue will be a big one for primary voters. We’re going to work hard on getting the information out in time.”
