Five people will compete in the primary today for the Senate seat vacated by Virg Bernero, mayor of Lansing. A special election is being held to fill the seat that represents the Lansing area, which includes MSU.

Out of three Democrats and two Republicans, only one from each party will go on to campaign for the March 14 election.

The State News editorial board discussed the qualities of each candidate and have provided a rough outline that voters can use to base their decisions on.

Republicans

Candidate John Findlay wants to work to get MSU more funding and increase funding for student loans and research.

Having two teenage children of his own might be incentive for him to rally for lower tuition costs at major universities.

Although he worked for the state in health and disability fields, he doesn't have any experience in the legislature and might have trouble dealing with politicians, who he believes don't connect with their constituents enough.

Findlay will be running against fellow Republican Vince Green, who wants to change tax policies for small businesses to keep them in the area. He also said he wants to increase funding for MSU and understands how the university affects the surrounding area.

A product of East Lansing schools, Green is a native who might understand the way the area works. His focus seems to be on MSU, and he could be a real asset in the battle over higher education appropriations, especially because he was a former administrator at Western Michigan University. He doesn't have any legislative experience, however, and has never been personally involved in politics.

Democrats

Melissa Sue Robinson, who is involved with business, is a tenacious candidate. She's organized and not afraid to defend her rights. Robinson is a transgender candidate and is fighting to have only her female name appear on the ballot, contending that putting her former name might confuse and turn away voters who would otherwise support her.

Robinson is concerned about funding higher education but wants to make people who make more than $75,000 pay for the bulk of higher education costs, which is a different method of funding that hasn't really been considered. She also has no experience in the legislature.

Anthony Benavides is also running for the seat. He would like to reduce the salaries of legislators and give businesses tax cuts to help people to stay in the area.

Benavides doesn't have any political experience, which could be a downside. He is also the nephew of former Lansing Mayor Tony Benavides, who was defeated by Bernero in November. A win for Senate candidate Benavides would be ironic.

The last candidate is Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, who has been the East Lansing representative in the state House of Representatives since 2000.

Whitmer would bring a lot of experience and knowledge about how the legislature works and would need little time to adjust in the middle of the Senate session.

A Whitmer win, however, would leave East Lansing with no representation in the House for about eight months. A special election for the House seat would not be held and finding a replacement wouldn't happen until the November 2006 election.

All candidates bring their own talents, experience and abilities to the job. Each has strengths and weaknesses and people should carefully consider who the best candidate would be.

Now go vote.