Conservatives Win in November

Republicans won a big victory in November in Michigan. They held all their statewide offices and Congressional seats. They also held all their current state legislative seats, gaining one in the Senate and four in the House. They now have at 27-11 supermajority in the Senate and a 63-47 majority in the House. More importantly, conservatives gained seats within the Republican caucus. All eight candidates endorsed by Madison Project Michigan won in November. Congratulations to Pat Colbeck, Lana Theis, Jim Runestad, Jason Sheppard, Tom Barrett, Cindy Gamrat, Gary Glenn, and Triston Cole.

One key test of how conservative the new Republican caucuses are is the leadership elections held two days after the election. The new Senate majority leader will be Arlan Meekhof, who is more conservative than previous leader Randy Richardville. The new Speaker of the House will be Kevin Cotter, the more conservative of the two candidates, who opposed Medicaid expansion and Common Core. This victory was made possible thanks to conservatives winning key primaries.

Of course, we can't rest easy. The legislature may still try to raise gas taxes or discriminate against Christian businesses. Candidates who ran as conservatives may be tempted to 'grow in office' or compromise for the sake of political expediency. We will do our best to hold them accountable if they do.

Thanks to everyone who supported the Madison Project Michigan! We hope that you will support our efforts again in 2016.

Michigan 2014 Election Results

Governor: 51-47 for Rick Snyder.  Much closer than his blowout in 2010, but good enough for a second term.

Senate: 41-55 for Gary Peters.  Peters ran a good campaign.  Land was a disaster.  Maybe someday the Michigan GOP will find a good Senate candidate.

AG: 52-44 for Bill Schuette.  Schuette for Governor in 2018!

SOS: 54-43 for Ruth Johnson over a token opponent.  Perhaps Ruth will challenge Stabenow in 2018.

The two referenda on wolf hunting both failed, 55-45 and 64-36.  Only the opponents of wolf hunting spent money here.

Supreme Court was 32-29-21-14 for Zahra (R,I) and Bernstein (D), who spent 2 million of his own money to win this seat.  David Viviano won the partial term 62-29.

Education Boards.  Republicans appear to have picked a seat on the MSU board with Melanie Foster, but lost all the other ed board seats.  This is very disappointing considering the circumstances.  Third party candidates probably cost us several seats here.

Congress.  As I long predicted, only district 1 was even somewhat close.

1. 52-45 for Benishek.  OK, but not great.  If Benishek keeps his term limits pledge, this seat will be open in 2016.

2. 64-33 for Huizinga

3. 58-39 for Amash.  He’s secure here.

4. 56-39 for Moolenaar.  Secure.

5. 31-67 Kildee

6. 56-40 Upton.  He no longer overperforms like he used to, but Upton is still secure.

7. 53-41 Walberg. He will never win big margins, but he has settled in here.

8. 55-42 Bishop.  Secure.

9. 36-60 for Sander Levin.

10. 69-29 for Candace Miller.  I wish she’d run for Senate.

11. 56-41 Trott.  No word on write-in votes.

12. 31-65 for Debbie Dingell

13. 16-80 for Conyers

14. 20-78 for Lawrence

State Senate.  The GOP actually picked up one seat, winning a 27-11 supermajority (pending a recount in 20).  Looks like the dems two-cycle strategy will need to pick two different cycles.  In competitive districts:

7. 52-48 Colbeck.  Huge hold for conservatives.

13. 58-42 Knollenberg.  Not close after Fishman lost the dem primary.  Good win for conservatives.

17. 51-46 for Dale Zorn.  Close win in a tossup district.

20. 45.52-45.45-9.0 for Margaret O’Brien over Sean McCann and Lorence Wenke.  The 60-vote margin likely means a recount.  A very close win in a district that may be trending away from the GOP.  It isn’t immediately clear who Lorence took from.

24. 56-44 for Rick Jones.  Tom Leonard may run in four years when this is open.

25. 56-44 for Phil Pavlov.  Terry Brown preformed respectably under the circumstances.

31. 56-44 for Mike Green.  Somewhat close.  This will be a tough defense in four years.

32. 54-46 for Ken Horn in another hotly contested tossup.  Republicans have won the last five state senate elections in Saginaw.

34. 56-44 for Geoff Hansen.  Not that close.

There will be a bunch of competitive open seats four years from now, but Senate Republicans look good right now.

State house.  Republicans picked up four seats, expanding their majority to 63-47, same as after 2010.  There will be many tough open seats in 2016 due to term limits of members elected in 2010.

1. 33-67 We’ll have Brian Banks to kick around for another two years.

3-9. Dems won 94-98% in the all-Detroit districts.

21. 45-55 for Kristi Pagan.  This seat was badly drawn; why didn’t the GOP make it all of Canton?

23. 52-48 for Pat Somerville.  This will be a tough open seat in 2016.

25. 47-53 Nick Hawatmeh comes up short in another terribly drawn seat.

30. 55-45 for Jeff Farrington.  This will be another tough open seat in 2016.

39. 52-48 for Klint Kesto

41. 56-44 for Martin Howrylak

43. 58-42 for Jim Tedder.  Dems thought they could win this.

52. 44-56 This could have been close if it was seriously contested.

56. 50-47 for Jason Sheppard in this close open Republican seat.

59. 62-38 for Aaron Miller

60. 30-70 for Jon Hoadley

61. 48-43-9 for Brandt Iden, who was damaged by scandal.

62. 51-49 for John Bizon in a very tough Battle Creek/Albion district.  PICKUP.

63. 56-44 for David Maturen

66. 57-43 for Aric Nesbitt.  This will be a tough open seat in 2016.

67. 46-54 This district is close, but not winnable.

71. 50.4-49.6 for Tom Barrett over Theresa Abed.  Tom is a strong conservative and an exceptional candidate. PICKUP

76. 46-52 Donijoe DeJonge falls short to Winnie Brinks.  This district is probably gone.

80. 63-34 for Cindy Gamrat

82. 55-45 for Todd Courser

84. 59-41 for Edward Canfield.  PICKUP

85. 53-43 for Ben Glardon.  This will be another tough open seat in 2016.

91. 46.5-46.3 for Holly Hughes over Colleen LaMonte. PICKUP

98. 55-45 for Gary Glenn

99. 52-48 for Kevin Cotter, potentially the next Speaker of the Michigan House.  This will be a tough open seat in 2016.

101. 50.4-49.6 for Ray Franz.  A very tough open seat in 2016.

104. 53-47 for Larry Inman.  Surprisingly close.

106. 55-45 for Peter Pettalia.  A tough open seat in 2016.

107. 61-39 for Lee Chatfield

My ratings turned out to be quite accurate.  Every race I had at lean, likely, or safe for a party was won by that party except one (house 62).  I always thought Snyder, Schuette, and Johnson would win, and that no congressional races except MI-1 would be close.  I was initially too optimistic about Land, however.  My state senate tossups had margins of 8, 5, and 0.  My state house tossups had margins of 5, 1, 1, and 0.  The closest margin in a race I had at safe was 6 (house 104).  The closest margin in a race I had at lean (excluding house 62) was 3 (house 56).

Why Vote for Grant Taylor?

There is a special election for Oshtemo Township Trustee.  The Republican nominee is longtime trustee Dave Bushouse.  The democrat nominee is Grant Taylor.  Who's he?

Grant Taylor is the 30-year-old brother of Kalamazoo democrat chairman John Taylor and son of David Taylor, who was a county commissioner is Cass County.

Four years ago, he announced a run for state representative in the 61st district after moving into the district one day before the filing deadline.  Unfortunately, he forgot the thirty day residency rule.  So he ran as a write-in candidate, and spent $100,000 of his own money to get 737 votes in the democrat primary.

07/27/10 - Hour 2: Democratic State House candidate Grant Taylor
Write-in candidate for Michigan House contributes nearly $106,000 to own campaign
Democrat Grant Taylor drops out of race for state House's 61st District after learning of residency rule
Democrat Grant Taylor to run for Michigan House's 61st District after dropping bid for Kalamazoo County Board

Two years later, he was back, running for Oshtemo Township Treasurer.  He lost the general election by a narrow 1.8% margin.

Now he is running for trustee.  So what are his qualifications?

There is no evidence that he has ever had a paying job.  Four years ago,

He states that he is treasurer of "MAC House charities", an organization that doesn't seem to have any presence online. When asked (see 20:45) about it, he admitted that this is a volunteer position

In his Gazette survey, he does not list a paying job, and he has no website to provide more information about him, either.

When asked about his education, he states that he "went to college in Chicago". He doesn't say what college he went to. He doesn't say that he graduated college, only that he 'went to' college. He doesn't say what he studied. He has stated that he has "experience in finance and accounting ".

How did an unemployed kid get the money to finance his political campaigns?

Grant Taylor, 26, liquidated as well as borrowed against some of his shares in Clarke Power Services Inc. to pay for the donations, said Jeff Parsons, his campaign manager.

Taylor’s father helped found the Cincinnati-based company.

So basically the money came from his father.

Grant Taylor wasted $100,000 on a write-in campaign that was certain to fail.  If he can't even spend his own money wisely, how can he be trusted with Oshtemo taxpayers' money?

Grant is just a spoiled rich kid trying to but himself a political office.

Previous: Who is Grant Taylor?

Lorence Wenke: Not Libertarian

Back in May, Lorence Wenke switched from Republican to Libertarian.  He claims that this move was based in principle, not political convenience.  So how well do his views line up with libertarianism?

Citing GOP opposition to gay rights, state Senate candidate Lorence Wenke leaves Republican Party State Senate hopeful Lorence Wenke says he plans to help build Libertarian Party
Libertarian Lorence Wenke talks split from GOP, minimum wage during Kalamazoo Gazette Editorial Board interview
Election 2014: Libertarian Party looks to make waves in Kalamazoo County after long dormancy

Wenke said he would support expanding the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for LGBT citizens, adding that if no one else introduced the bill, he would do so.

Anti-discrimination laws violate freedom of association, and there is a long libertarian tradition opposing them.

How about the basic free market position of opposing the minimum wage?

Wenke, the owner of Wenke Greenhouses in Comstock Township, said he would have voted yes on the minimum wage increase.

He said the increase will have a significant impact on the payroll businesses, but added that he believes the working poor of the community deserve the raise.

Based on what theory of value?

However, Wenke said he would support indexing minimum wage to half the rate of inflation instead of the full-rate.

"If everything in the country is indexed to inflation, we will have a lot of inflation," Wenke said.

It's safe to say Wenke doesn't understand the causes of inflation, monetary theory, or the federal reserve.

Asked if he believes the argument that raising the minimum wage could lead to businesses being forced to lay off employees, Wenke said he does not.

"I've never seen that in the world I've lived in," Wenke said. "It seems to me that employers need someone to work, the difference between a $1/hour is not going to make the difference in the decision."

Apparently he doesn't understand supply and demand or marginal change either.

How about that classic libertarian issue of legalizing marijuana?

Wenke said if he had to vote today, he would vote against legalizing marijuana. However, he said there is still a significant amount of research to be done on the issue and he is glad that Colorado and Washington – states that have already legalized marijuana -- are taking up that experiment.

At least he opposes raising taxes, right?

Wenke said to improve the roads, the state will have to raise the gas tax up from the current tax of 19 cents per gallon. He said a gradual increase of 6 cents over three years would likely solve most of the funding problems.

Any more?

Wenke said he would support instituting a sales or use tax on all internet transactions in the state of Michigan that would equal the 6 percent sales tax citizens pay in physical stores. Wenke said he introduced a bill while he was a state Rep. that would have made Michigan one of a handful of states urging the federal government to change a law that currently bans such taxes on internet purchases. 

"Those of us who have brick and mortar business that are local, we collect that tax when we sell a product and we're the people that local people go to for employment, for property taxes, for school taxes for charitable donations," Wenke said. "We should not have to charge more than somebody outside of our state has to charge for the same product.

People who don't live in Michigan also don't receive those services.

Wenke has made as issue out of government debt.  How does he propose to address it?

"But now that they're in it, they should choose reducing benefits, they should choose reducing spending in other areas," Wenke said. "If they have to raise taxes on their citizens to provide these benefits, they should choose that. Borrowing money to service debt is what gets businesses in trouble ... We do not want Kalamazoo to go the way of several cities in Michigan which are essentially bankrupt and can't pay their bills.

Does Wenke want to control spending?  How about getting government out of education?

"I think a good argument can be made for more money for K-12 education," Wenke said. "But I think we need some changes made to it before we provide any more money to K-12 education."

How about college spending?

Wenke said one way to make higher education more affordable would be for everyone to pay taxes for community colleges, instead of just those who live near those institutions.

That's four different tax increases, in case you're counting.

How about opposing government control of the economy through environmental regulations?

Wenke said a large part of this issue is getting the rest of the world, such as China, on board with the fighting climate change.

At least he wants to limit the welfare state, right?

As an alternative, Wenke proposed offering free birth control at all pharmacies that fill prescriptions.

These positions don't seem all that libertarian.  What does the Libertarian Party have to say?

Buzuma also said Wenke's ideological deviations are a non-issue. 

"We try to be a large tent," Buzuma said. "We understand that not everyone is going to agree 100 percent with the platform and we accept that as long as they're basically for individual freedom and the human rights and constitutional rights."

Ka-ching!

A commenter is not so generous.

With all due respect, Mr. Wenke is a phony Libertarian candidate. Libertarians support liberty, which means voluntary transactions between consenting, free adults; not government-mandated coercion such as telling employers how much they must pay their employees. The government can intervene when employers force people to work for them no matter what the wage, if any. Slavery is illegal, and it should be, but freedom is a two-way street. Nobody is allowed to force somebody to work for them; nor should anybody be forced to hire somebody based on coercive criteria mandated by a dictatorial government. Never mind that such coercion limits employment opportunities and discourages small businesses in favor of the the too-big-to-jail, too-big-to-fail businesses that make huge campaign contributions in order to protect their government-aided competitive advantages, aka crony capitalism. Wenke's support of a government-mandated wage, as reported in the Oct. 12 Kalamazoo Gazette, disqualifies him as a legitimate Libertarian candidate; rather, it establishes him as a pretender who will say anything and wear any disguise to gain the power of elected office.

Let's get real.  Lorence Wenke was always a moderate Republican.  He never helped or associated with the libertarian or Tea Party wings of the Republican party.  He never fought for limited government in the legislature.  His obsession with two issues that most voters don't care about and his creepy, off-putting personality finally rubbed so many voters the wrong way that he couldn't win any more elections.  He lost his previous bid for state senate and two bids for school board by landslide margins.  He was running for state senate as a Republican until he dropped out on the last possible day.  He finally realized he couldn't win, so he is running a vanity campaign to spite Republicans for not supporting him and buy some attention from a party desperate for money.

Before you vote for a third party candidate, check where he actually stands.

Previous:
Wenke Running for Senate
Lorence Wenke: DLTDHYOTWO