Amash, Rogers, Pensler, Dr. Sherry
By Brandon Hall
(Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com)
The US Senate race to replace Senator Debbie Stabbenow is heating up as the August primary approaches.
Despite having the much sought after endorsement of President Trump, former Congressman Mike Rogers is struggling.
2 of the latest polls have Rogers at under 30%---28% in one, and 23% in another----extremely weak numbers for a frontrunner trying to position himself as the presumptive nominee.
He should be closer to 35-40% by now...
Rogers does break 30% in a recent Voter Protection Project poll.
According to a May Glengariff Group survey, Rogers name ID was 37% with Republican primary voters---7% had a favorable opinion, 10% had an unfavorable opinion, and 20% hadn't made up their mind.
That's weak AF for a candidate who is supposedly the "front runner." And presumptive nominee? Not so fast, sweetheart...
3 candidates are trying to take Rogers down: businessman Sandy Pensler, former Congressman Justin Amash, and Dr. Sherry O'Donnell.
Pensler was at 12%, Amash 11%, and Dr. Sherry at 3% in the VPP survey, which is similar to their standing in multiple other polls.
Nearly half of Republican primary voters are still undecided.
On the contrary, the likely Dem nominee, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, is over 50% and has a lead of 25-45% depending on which numbers you trust.
Like all candidates, the 3 trying to take down Rogers have positives and negatives.
Sandy Pensler, who specializes in saving failing businesses, has the resources needed to go 12 rounds with Slotkin. Of the 3 primary challengers, he also has the best chance to beat Rogers and his establishment machine.
However, to get over the top, Pensler needs to change his country club/Ivy League image, and be more relatable to average people. Waiting so long to go after Rogers was also a major mistake, but his Benghazi ad campaign has been extremely effective exposing the role Rogers played in the scandal.
Justin Amash had a stellar voting record overall, but his decision to impeach President Trump continues to haunt him. Amash needs to make major inroads with Trump supporters in order to beat Rogers.
He has spent all his time going after Rogers and Slotkin, which is smart. Amash is also benefitting from a California funded Super PAC sending mailers on his behalf.
Dr. Sherry is likable and has strong grassroots cred, but she hasn't raised any money, and is polling between 1-3%. That dog don't hunt.
If Trucker Randy's listeners decided the race, she'd be in great shape. However, back in the real world, Dr. Sherry would have been much better off running for State House or State Senate.
I like Dr. Sherry---I thought she'd get more support, but that hasn't materialized---I hope she continues to stay involved in the party after the primary.
This is a 3 way race---can Amash or Pensler pull off the upset?
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.
>>>Email him at WestMIPolitics@Gmail.com
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