2010 is the chance for Michiganders to vote for a new Governor
It’s a new year — 2010.
It’s an even-numbered year, which means it’s my favorite type of year — an election year.
The big election for us in Michigan will be the gubernatorial election; with Gov. Jennifer Granholm unable to seek reelection due to term limits, we will be seeing a whole host of candidates vying for the position.
The expected frontrunner for the Democrats, Lieutenant Gov. John Cherry, announced Tuesday that he would not be running, citing an inability to raise the funds that would be needed to successfully run a campaign.
While this currently leaves the Democrats without a candidate well-known at the statewide level, I think Cherry dropping out only helps the Democrats.
He was consistently polling anywhere from 8-15 percent behind the three big-name Republicans running — Attorney General Mike Cox, U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
As of now, there are five Democratic candidates who declared their candidacies, and there are an additional seven potential candidates who could possible declare.
Of the possible candidates, I think Michigan Speaker of the House Andy Dillon has the best chance of winning the primary, with Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero as my next guess.
Polls comparing generic Republican candidates to generic Democratic candidates have shown a virtual dead heat among likely voters and, with the Michigan economy continuing to suffer under the leadership of Granholm, Republicans have the upper hand going into this year’s election cycle.
If Andy Dillon does get the nomination for the Democratic Party, he will have the advantage of name recognition, but he also will have to overcome the hurdles of his past as Speaker of the House.
It was under Dillon’s leadership when the state went through two budget crises.
It was under Dillon’s leadership when the controversial tax on services was implemented in 2007 (although that was later repealed after that year’s budget crisis was resolved).
There is no doubt that Michiganders are unhappy with the current leadership in Lansing.
When asked who was mostly to blame for the budget crisis in 2009, an EPIC-MRA poll revealed that the Democratic leadership in Lansing received 32 percent of the blame, with the Republicans at 22 percent and both parties at 37 percent.
The Michigan economy has not improved and, in 2010, the Democrats will not be able to use the “It’s John Engler’s fault” excuse like they did in 2006.
Having Granholm and Cherry running the executive branch didn’t work. Having Andy Dillon running the House of Representatives didn’t work and, with only a thin majority in the state Senate, the Republicans were unable to get any substantial economic policy changes to go through.
2010 is the year the Republicans will take back the governor’s mansion. But then again, I said that back in 2006, so we will just have to wait and see.
