One Republican who is sure to
be in attendance when Gov. Rick Snyder comes to Sterling Heights for Monday’s
Macomb GOP Lincoln Dinner is Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land, who has placed a
considerable focus on winning Macomb County in the 2014 elections.
As the instant frontrunner
for the Republican nomination – and currently the only GOP candidate for the
seat being vacated by longtime Sen. Carl Levin – Land has been making the
rounds to Republican events across the state. At each stop, she touts her
statewide electoral prowess in her two statewide wins for secretary of state.
On Facebook she recently
displayed the above graphic and said that she is the one Republican who can do
well in the key county of Macomb.
But her plan to focus on
Macomb may have taken a hit on Thursday when County Executive Mark Hackel and
the “Big Five” countywide elected officials made an unusual move by endorsing
the presumptive Democratic nominee, Rep. Gary Peters, a full 16 months before
the Senate election.
All six are Democrats but
they all – including Prosecutor Eric Smith, Clerk Carmella Sabaugh, Treasurer
Ted Wahby, Sheriff Anthony Wickersham and Public Works Commissioner Anthony
Marrocco – have a proven track record of garnering a lot of GOP votes. That
could have an impact in the 2014 general election.
One distinct disadvantage
Land will have is keeping up with Peters’ fundraising abilities. The National
Republican Senatorial Committee slammed Peters earlier this week for traveling
to California to round up campaign contributions.
But the NRSC ignored Land’s
travel schedule, which led her to Washington last week. She reportedly told a
Lincoln Dinner crowd in northern Michigan last week that the trip included
strategizing and fundraising.
In promoting her electability,
Land has apparently relied heavily on Macomb GOP Chairman Rob Montilla.
In an email message to her
supporters, she said:
“I want to thank Rob Montilla
from Macomb County for his support and sharing the memo below, which details
our past successes in southeast Michigan at the ballot box. This is an
important opportunity to elect a Republican United States senator in a gubernatorial
election year. I am honored to have Rob’s support and appreciate him releasing
this memo on the importance of electability.
| The Montilla memo offered a little pep talk and a few charts: “In Michigan, it has been historically challenging for Republicans to win statewide elections in presidential years. However, in gubernatorial years, the GOP has enjoyed greater success. With the gubernatorial cycle in 2014, this means the open United States Senate seat being vacated by Senator Carl Levin is a potential pickup and a great opportunity for Republican victory. Presidential Year vs Gubernatorial Year Land Success in Democrat Years “Republicans have won the top of the *denotes top vote getter A second asterisk that | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
