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| Maturen, left, Matt Hall with President Trump, right |
By Brandon Hall
(Email Him At WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)
State Rep. David Maturen may opt to withdraw his name from the ballot Friday afternoon instead of facing a blistering primary challenge from Republican activist Matt Hall. (At least that's the latest buzz across Lansing.)
It's easy to see why MIRS named Hall the most serious primary threat out of the 20 races with incumbents who face challengers: Maturen faces many obstacles in his uphill bid for a third term in the House.
He has voted for the gas tax hike, vehicle registration fees, and multiple other terrible money grabs.
Maturen was part of the "dirty dozen," 12 GOP House members who voted against a marginal income tax cut.
Maturen is also hostile to the pro life community and has never received the endorsement of Right To Life, one of only two current incumbents who fail to meet their criteria.
Sadly, he is even a Never Trump who does not support our President.
According to WMKU:
"Asked about the Presidential election, Maturen says he never tells anyone how he’s to going to vote. But Maturen says he won’t endorse the Republican nominee Donald Trump. Maturen says Trump’s misogynistic comments don’t sit well with him. He has been married for 45 years and has three daughters. Maturen served in the army from 1971-73 during a time when John McCain was being held prisoner in Vietnam. Maturen says Trump is out of bounds to say McCain wasn’t a hero. Maturen is also bothered by Trump’s comments about Mexicans because his son in law is a Mexican national. Maturen says it would be hard to face his family if he endorsed Trump."
Maturen will also likely face immense scrutiny for nearly killing a family in a car accident because he was not paying attention to the road!
According to MLive:
" State Rep. Dave Maturen "traumatized" a family he narrowly missed before getting into a fiery car crash a week ago.
The wreck occurred while Maturen was headed to Battle Creek to meet Legislative Director Sherry Sofia and participate in the Grand Cereal Parade on Friday, June 9. According to an incident report from the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office, Maturen was ticketed for being unable to stop in an assured clear distance in the crash.
At approximately 5:33 p.m., Vicksburg resident Julie Kuber, carrying her fiancee's 9-year-old daughter and a friend's 10-year-old daughter, began to slow down at the intersection of 38th Street and MN Avenue north of Climax Township. Her fiancee, 15-year-old son and his friend began turning their 27-foot-long recreational vehicle left onto 38th Street when Maturen approached them from behind.
Undersheriff Paul Matyas said Maturen wasn't paying attention to the roadway. By the time he noticed the vehicles stopped ahead of him it was almost too late.
"I (told the girls) bear down, because this guy is going to hit us," Kuber said. "I'm watching and there's nothing I can do."
At the last second, Maturen swerved out of the way and lost control of his vehicle, which turned off the road and hit a tree. Kuber said the impact sent Maturen's vehicle sailing through the air before landing on its side.
"The whole car flew," she said. "Thank God that he swerved the last minute. If he hit us something very bad would have come out of it."
You get the picture. Maturen would be weak against almost anyone, but Matt Hall presents an enormous challenge.
Hall, a Michigan Republican Party State Committee member and lawyer, is said to be willing to spend well over $100,000 to beat Maturen. He has already been hitting doors in the district according to Facebook posts.
Hall was a delegate for Donald Trump in Cleveland in 2016 and the 3rd District Chair for the campaign. Hall led the effort to remove Wendy Day from her position as MIGOP Grassroots Vice Chair after she publicly opposed Donald Trump on a local TV show.
Maturen currently has around $60,000 on hand if he chooses to run again.
MIRS has identified Maturen as extremely vulnerable.
"Michigan Republican State Committeeman Matt HALL announced today he would be challenging Rep. David MATUREN (R-Brady Twp.) from the incumbent's political right, marking potentially the most serious primary threat of the 2018 primary cycle," they wrote Tuesday.
"Hall, who actively flirted with running for Congress last year against U.S. Rep. Justin AMASH (R-Cascade Twp.), said he's rounded up support in the 63rd House District to take out the two-term House member, who Hall called a "liberal."
"Maturen is consistently rated one of the most liberal Republicans in Lansing," Hall said. "He's voted for high taxes and against lower auto insurance rates. He's voted against the sanctity of life, our Second Amendment rights and English as our official language."
Hall is a constitutional law attorney and longtime conservative grassroots activist."
Beating a sitting State Rep. in a primary is immensely difficult: before Lee Chatfield kicked Frank Foster to the curb in 2014, it hadn't be done in decades.
It CAN be done though, with the right message, a lot of doors, and a little money to play with. Matt Hall is well positioned to take a page from the Chatfield playbook if Maturen stays in, and it will be one hell of a race.
Stay tuned!
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Brandon Hall is a lifelong political nerd from Grand Haven, and is the Managing Editor of West Michigan Politics.
