Although Paul DeWeese lost to Virg Bernero in Tuesday’s 23rd District state Senate race, he remains optimistic about the community’s involvement in politics.
The two state representatives faced off in pursuit of the senate seat currently held by term-limited Dianne Byrum, D-Onondaga. Once the results were tallied, they congratulated each on a hard fight.
The high voter turnout, DeWeese, R-Williamston, said is an indication that “there’s a great interest in the election.” Nearly 50 percent of all registered Ingham County voters cast a ballot in the race.
Bernero received 44,137 votes, or 53 percent of the votes, while DeWeese received 38,584 votes, or 47 percent.
DeWeese called Bernero early Wednesday morning to congratulate him. But he knew the race was over around midnight Tuesday.
“I was actually cautiously optimistic that we could win, but I knew it was a difficult district for any Republican to win,” DeWeese said. “I felt that the community was responding to the message we were sending out.”
He said he did everything he could to beat Bernero, but acknowledged that he may have spent too much time campaigning in Lansing. “Perhaps if I would have spent more time in Meridian Township the outcome would have been different,” he said.
With the election behind him, a disappointed DeWeese plans to spend more time in the emergency room. He hasn’t decided if he’ll ever step back in the political ring.
“I don’t have any plans to do that for sure, but I think it’s a dangerous thing to rule out activities in life in the middle of a disappointment,” he said.
Bernero said he’s feeling tired, but anxious to get back to work - after some rest and relaxation.
During the campaign, he won an award at Adrian College but declined to accept it because he didn’t want to shift away from the trail. “It would have took an earthquake to get me out of Ingham County,” he said.
Bernero attributes the win to using one-on-one communication to get his message across to voters. He said his pro-choice stance on abortion and his stance on the environment put him ahead in voters’ minds.
“Slow and steady wins the race,” he said. “We were not necessarily slow, but we were steady and consistent.
“Paul’s a very nice man, and I heard that through the entire campaign. But I think in the end it was issues and not personality that decided the race.”
State Rep. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, who beat Williamston Republican Larry Ward on Tuesday, said she looks forward to working with Bernero for another term on helping MSU.
“I think Virgil will be a great advocate for the university on the senate side,” she said. “I do know he’ll fight for Michigan State to close the funding gap.”
Whitmer said Bernero will carry on the tradition of having passionate Democrats in the seat.
“Paul is a hard worker and it’s a shame that we had to pick between the two of them but I am frankly glad the Democrats picked up a seat in the senate,” she said.
