It was a cool 23 degrees outside when Northern Michigan University students Ben Weimert and Mark Slykhouse began the 390-mile trek to East Lansing on Sunday morning.
“We left at 5 a.m.,” Weimert said. “And we have to be back by 11 tonight.”
Weimert and Slykhouse were two of nearly 50 students who gathered at the Union Ballroom Sunday afternoon to meet and talk to Republican Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus during his campaign to be the state’s next governor.
Posthumus’ chief opponent is Democratic Attorney General Jennifer Granholm.
“This is my first time to meet the guy we’re campaigning for,” Slykhouse said.
Students for Posthumus, the group that coordinated the event, invited students from the organization’s 38 campus chapters.
“We’ve got people here from most of the chapters,” said Jessica Cash, organization co-chairwoman and a University of Michigan student.
“This gives students the opportunity to hear about Dick Posthumus’ point of view on student issues and to interact with him before he goes on his last bus tour.”
Chris DeWitt, spokesman for Granholm, said the attorney general has made numerous campaign stops on college campuses and will continue to do so up until the Nov. 5 election.
The room was quickly filled with loud cheers when Posthumus entered, beaming with smiles and giving handshakes.
“When I first announced I was going to run for governor, very few people gave me a chance,” he said. “Now we’re 16 days out and in a tight race.”
After an introduction from his daughters, Lisa and Heather Posthumus, the gubernatorial candidate thanked students for their support and began to discuss issues such as higher education affordability and job availability. He also took questions from students.
“People are going to Ohio and North Carolina to find jobs,” Posthumus said. “I want you to be able to stay in Michigan if you want.
“That’s why I support money going into the Life Sciences Corridor. Life sciences is a major, growing employer in the state.”
Joking about the Spartans’ football loss Saturday to the University of Minnesota, Posthumus reminisced about his days at MSU and the experience that helped him realize the importance of students in government.
“I wanted to come out and have an intense college effort because that’s how I got into politics, but we used to win games back then,” he said.
Posthumus entered the world of politics at 19 when he became campaign manager for Gov. John Engler as Engler ran for a state representative position at age 21.
“I wasn’t even old enough to vote at that time,” he said about the early 1970s.
“But with an effort from young people, we won that race by 134 votes. That’s why I believe in you.”
