This could be bad new for Debbie Stabenow. According to the
Detroit News, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard will get into the race for the United State Senate.
Ending days of speculation, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard plans to announce Monday that he is back in the 2006 U.S. Senate race from which he withdrew earlier this year because of undisclosed health concerns.
Bouchard, 48, of Birmingham re-enters a race with two other Republicans, the Rev. Keith Butler of Troy and Jerry Zandstra, a minister from Cutlerville, outside Grand Rapids. They are vying to unseat Democratic incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing.
The campaign of right wing activist Keith Butler is not happy.
"We have heard him (Bouchard) say he is in and then say he's out," said David Doyle, a spokesman for Butler. "Frankly, it wouldn't surprise us if he changed his mind again." Butler told the News earlier this week that he was perplexed about why a "small but very powerful cabal" within the party was wooing Bouchard back into the race.
Representatives for Zandstra could not be reached for comment.
A little background. Bouchard is the Sheriff and a former State Senator from Oakland County, which was once solid red but has been rapidly trending blue for years. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say we need it very badly to offset Republican gains in previously Democratic Macomb County. Bouchard is conservative, but not a zanie-wacko like Butler. As a matter of fact, he well represents the establishment in the tradition of John Engler and George Romeny.
There's always hope that Butler and Bouchard will tear each other apart, but the Michigan GOP is very disciplined and tend to rally behind a candidate very early. On the other hand, Stabenow has a huge head start is terms of fundraising and 2006 might not be the best year for a Republican to jump in. However, this race now bears close watching.