In our State Governor race, conservative Rick Snyder, the man currently in office along with Brian Nelson-Calley are teaming up against the democratic side of Mark Schauer and Lisa Brown. Mary Buzuma and Scotty Boman are also in the race on the Libertarian side.
For our attorney general, current Attorney General Bill Schuette is running against Mark Totten and Justin Altman of the Libertarians.
For our Secretary of State, current SOS Ruth Johnson is running against democrat Godfrey Dillard, with James Lewis running for the Libertarians.
For our US Senate, Former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is running against Gary Peters, with Jim Falner representing the Libertarians.
For our US Congressional Representative, State Senator John Moolenaar is running against Dr. Jeff Holmes, with Will Tyler representing the White Party.
For our State Senator, Jim Stamos is running against Joe Lukasiewicz and for our State Rep, Gary Glenn is running against Joan M. Braush.
Other third-party candidates also will appear on the ballot in many state races but were not included due to space limitations. You can find your personalized sample ballot at https://vote.michigan.gov/mvic/
Now that you know a little bit about the races, let’s get to know the faces in the races.
Package by Kim Toner and Tom Greene[/box]
MICHIGAN GOVERNOR RACE
According to Ballotpedia.com and the Rick Snyder website, Our current Governor, Republican Rick Snyder, advertises himself as, “One Tough Nerd.” He’s a conservative from Ann Arbor with a degree from the University of Michigan. As we may have noticed in his four years in office, he’s very business-minded. He favors vouchers for school choice, the absolute right to gun ownership, stricter limits on campaign funds, Stimulus economic recovery, that stricter punishment reduces crime, a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens, to expand the military and to never legalize marijuana.
His right-hand-man, Brian Nelson-Calley is our Lieutenant Governor. The Dearborn man went into the Michigan Republican Party in 1995 and has been there ever since, according to Ballotpedi. The MSU and Grand Valley State Grad worked on our Tax Policy, Banking and Financial Services and the Health Policy.
According to the Mark Schauer Website, Snyder and Calley are running against Democratic Candidate Mark Schauer. The Howell Native has served on the US House for 2 years, 2009-2011. He favors to Legally require hiring women and minorities, to Expand Obamacare, the Absolute Right to gun ownership, stricter limits on political campaign funds, prioritize green energy, stimulus economic recovery, that abortion is a woman’s unrestricted right, comfortable with same-sex marriage, that stricter punishment reduces crime, and to expand the military.
On Lisa Brown’s campaign website, his running mate is Lisa Brown. The Oakland County Native has served on the Michigan House for 4 years, 2009-2013. She’s an MSU Grad that’s served on many Education Committees in the House.
Per Michigan Secretary of State and Ballotpedia, Mary Buzuma and Scotty Boman are running for the Libertarian party. Mary ran for US House in the 2012 elections and Scotty ran for US Senate. Both have good political campaign experiences under the belts.
MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL RACE
According to the Michigan Secretary of State website and Ballotpedia, our current attorney general Bill Schuette has had a long career in public politics. From the Michigan Court of Appeals to the US House, Schuette has been in a lot of places. The Midland man took over for Mike Cox after the last election. He’s against the decriminalization of marijuana and he fought to sue the Obama administration for the birth control laws in 2012. So, it’s fair to say that Schuette packs a punch and he’s someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.
Per his website and Ballotpedia, Mark Totten, Schuette’s main opponent, is a Democrat working in Criminal Law at MSU. He’s a Yale grad with a Ph.D in ethics. He focuses on crime pre
vention, consumer protection from financial predators and govetrnment transparency. Totten also ran in 2010 but was the runner-up in the August Primary to Robert Jones, who then was runner-up to Schuette. Totten has an experienced political campaign background.
Justin M. Altman is representing the Libertarian party, according to Ballotpedia. Altman ran for Washtenaw County Prosecutor in 2012 but was the runner-up to Brian Mackie. Altman is a law clerk for the Michigan Poverty Law Center and works as an attorney with Altman and Associates, PLLC.
MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE RACE
Ruth Johnson is the Republican candidate. The Oakland Community College and Wayne State Grad has lived in Oakland County all her life, according to Ballotpedia. She was the Secretary of State in the last term, and served in the Michigan House from 1999-2004. She was also the Oakland County clerk before running for Secretary of State.
Per Ballotpedia, Godfrey Dillard is the Democratic candidate. He once tried to run for the US House, but he didn’t collect enough support in time to make run this year
US SENATE RACE
Due to the retirement of Carl Levin, a US Senate position for Michigan is open.
Per her website and Ballotpedia, Terri Lynn Land is the Republican candidate. The Grand Rapids native is a former Michigan Secretary of State, serving from 2002-2009. After her term limit expired, she ran for governor in 2009 but bowed out after four months. She was the Kent County clerk from 1993-2000. Land supports the repealing of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), Free and Fair Trade to bring more jobs to Michigan and the US, and she supports enforcing immigration laws on our borders.
On the Michigan Secretary of State Website, Gary Peters is the Democratic candidate. The Pontiac native served on the Michigan State Senate and currently serves in the US House. Peters had served on the Financial Services committee while in the house. He strongly supports expanding Obamacare, to legally require hiring women and minorities, higher taxes on the wealthy, a stricter limit on political campaign funds, to prioritize green energy, stimulus economic recovery, that Abortion is a woman’s unrestricted right, and he supports same-sex marriage.
Per the Secretary of State website and Ballotpedia, Jim Fulner is the Libertarian representative. Fulner made a third-place run for the US house house in 2012 behind Sander Levin and Don Volaric. The Northern Michigan Grad is a software engineer and works in Automotives.
US REPRESENTATIVE RACE (MIDLAND DISTRICT)
John Moolenaar is the Republican representative. The Dow grad served on the Michigan House on the 98th district from 2002-2008, according to Ballotpedia. He was also a member of the Midland City Council and currently serves on the Michigan Senate 36th district. During his senate time, Moolenaar served on the Outdoor Recreation and Tourism and Redistricting committees. He’s also served on the Appropriations Committee as their Vice-Chair and on the Veterans, Military Affairs and Homeland Security committee as their chairman.
Per his website and Ballotpedia, Jeff Holmes is the Democratic candidate. He ran unopposed in August. The Lansing-born Alma native is the Chief of staff at the Gratiot Medical Center. Jeff is also the business and managing partner for Alma Family Practice for the last 24 years. He’s served on the board of trustees and the administrative board chair at Alma United Methodist Church for the last 8 years. Holmes is experienced in different areas.
On his website, Will Tyler White is representing the Libertarians. He’s served 30 years as a local business leader in economic development.
MICHIGAN STATE SENATE RACE (MIDLAND DISTRICT)
Per Ballotpedia, Jim Stamas is the Republican candidate. He’s served on the Michigan House 98th district since 2008 and is now the Majority Floor Leader. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Northwood and has served in the Army and Michigan National Guard. He’s served on the Regulatory Reform and Tax Policy Committees, as the Vice-Chair of the Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources committee, and as the chair of the Government Operations and Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
Per his website and Ballotpedia, Joe Lukasiewicz is the Democratic candidate. If elected, he plans to support any district plans to add jobs to the state, support educational funds, protect the district’s natural resources and help probide a well-maintained infrastructure. Joe was a biologist for NOAA and US Fish and Wildlife Services. He’s also a conservationist and former business owner. Joe is also an Eastern Michigan Grad, and for Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE RACE (MIDLAND DISTRICT)
Per Ballotpedia, Gary Glenn is the Republican representative. He ran for US Senate in 2012. He served on the county commission in Ada County, Idaho for two terms and he has a bachelor’s from Lenoir-Rhyme University. He was the executive director for the Idaho Freedom to Work Committee, President of “School Choice YES!”, and served on a ballot campaign committee in Mackinac County. He also served in the US Army Reserve.
Per Ballotpedia, Joan Brausch is the Democratic Representative. She’s lived in the 98th district for 43 years and knows the community well. She supports public education, Governmental help for Small Businesses, funding Infrastructure and the Gas Tax, supporst LGBT Marriages, and supports having a permit for gun owners.