LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — Lt. Gov. Brian Calley jumped into the race to become Michigan’s next Governor this week, saying he wants to continue Rick Snyder’s work, boosting the state’s economy.That may be why Snyder is working so hard to raise money for Calley, so that the Snyder legacy survives.
He will have some catching up to do to beat Attorney General Bill Schuette, who had a 24-point lead in the latest poll.
Schuette says never mind the past…he is the future and Michigan still isn’t back from the recession. The population is still down and so are wages. He says the state still has 300,000 fewer jobs than it had before the recession. He says a “republican team” is responsible for the state’s comeback, and not just the Snyder administration.
Target Insyght’s Ed Sarpolus says that will resonate with voters, most who believe the state cannot have too many jobs.
The first salvos fired by a PAC backing Bill Schuette focused on the fact that neither Calley or Snyder have backed Donald Trump, while the Attorney General has been endorsed by the President.
It’s an odd strategy. Both Trump and Snyder were elected because they were outsiders, and both have seen their approval ratings plummet since their election.
Calley and Schuette are both career politicians who are pinning their hopes on carrying the baggage of men who are not. It may help them win the primary, but hurt them in the General Election.
So could a bloody primary battle that could leave whoever wins spent and battered headed into the fall.
The democrats had their reaction out to the media before Calley officially announced and they were predictably critical, lumping Calley in with the rest of the GOP.
“Under the failed leadership of Snyder, Calley, and Schuette, working men and women have seen their paychecks decline and taxes go up so corporations and billionaires like Betsy DeVos can have more and contribute less, public education is under attack, veterans have been mistreated and ignored, our state has dropped to dead last in the country for government integrity and transparency, and an entire city was poisoned. While their equally terrible track records make it tough to say who’d be the worst governor, it’s clear Republicans are in a no-win situation with Calley vs. Schuette, because no matter who wins between them, next November they’re going to lose to a Democrat.”
There are now 7 Republicans and 4 democrats who have announced plans to run for Governor and the filing deadline is still months away, so there is plenty of time for others to jump in.
