Earlier this week, I asked for your help. I knew that together, we could turn out at the polls and send a message to Jase Bolger and Roy Schmidt that election fraud and political stunts have no place in our state’s capitol.
Little did I know at the time that Secretary of State Ruth Johnson would attempt to undermine our ability to speak out by turning untold numbers of people away from the polls yesterday, demanding they re-affirm their citizenship before being given a ballot despite Governor Snyder vetoing that requirement earlier this year.
Despite Ruth Johnson’s effort to disenfranchise voters, I’m proud to say that message to Bolger & Schmidt was most definitely still heard through strong results across the state, and was heard nowhere louder than in Representative Schmidt’s own district.
Not only did thousands of you turn out to support Winnie Brinks' write-in campaign to field a strong Democratic candidate in the race, but Republican voters also rejected Bolger’s lame scheme by running their own grassroots write-in campaign against Schmidt that won a majority of the votes at the polls yesterday, but unfortunately fell just short of victory due to the absentee voters that had cast their ballots for Schmidt before the write-in campaign even started.
While Schmidt may have limped through the primary, the result was nevertheless a victory for fairness and for the people of Michigan. It stands as a referendum on Jase Bolger as we saw an unprecedented number of people from his own party write-in votes to oppose him and his leadership. Jase Bolger may continue to deny he lied to us. He may continue to deny he did anything wrong. But it’s clear to see that Michigan voters, both Democrat and Republican, see things very differently.
It’s time for Bolger to finally own up to the fraud and deception he tried to commit and step down from his position as Speaker of the House. We must all continue to keep the pressure on him and send our message louder than ever that our state cannot move forward with honest leadership until he steps out of the way.
Please continue to contact your State Representative and ask them to demand ethical leadership in the State House. We’ve sent a powerful message already this week, and together, we can continue to make it clear that Michigan deserves far better than the failed leadership of Jase Bolger.
I would also like to thank the non-partisan Election Protection group that assisted so many people yesterday after Secretary of State Ruth Johnson showed her disregard for the law and the rights of Michigan voters. Thankfully, her own scheme was revealed in the primary instead of the general election and we anticipate the Department of Justice will investigate her actions further.
Thank you for continuing to speak out!