Jason Allen To Announce Candidacy For Congress In MI-1 As Speculation Over Chatfield+Pettalia Continues

Allen, left, with family

By Brandon Hall

(Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com

Sources tell WMP that former State Senator Jason Allen will soon announce his candidacy for Congress in Michigan's First District.

Casperson

Allen has been widely expected to run, and will evidently make it official soon, possibly as early as next week.

State Senator Tom Casperson is currently the only major candidate who has declared, but he faces an uphill battle as he explains a series of controversial votes to the conservative primary electorate, such as voting for the gas tax increase this year, and opposing "Right To Work" reform signed by Governor Snyder.

Casperson has even been called "the most liberal Republican Congressional candidate in the country," surely not a winning brand in a competitive GOP primary.

Polls show State Rep. Lee Chatfield could be a major player in the race if he decided to jump in: he is at nearly 10% despite only one year in Lansing. Casperson and Allen have been in the political arena for years...

Chatfield is expected to stay out and be a top candidate for Speaker of the House in 2017 or 2019.

A State Rep. more likely to run? Peter Pettalia. Pettalia polls at 7% and does not have any path to the Speakership like Chatfield does.

Poll results:

State Sen. Tom Casperson: 26.7%

Former State Sen. Jason Allen 19.1%

State Rep. Lee Chatfield: 9.3%

Others include:

State Rep. Peter Pettalia: 7.4%

GOP Activist Alan Arcand: 6.2%

Stay tuned!

State Rep. Lee Chatfield

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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.

>>>Email him at WestMiPolitics@Gmail.com

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Photo By Darlene Dowling Thompson