TRAVERSE CITY – About 550 Republican Party faithful packed into the lower meeting room of the Park Place Hotel to catch and cheer Ann Romney’s hastily planned “get out the vote” pitch for her husband, presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
The line inside the city landmark started forming Monday about 11:30 a.m. Linda Taylor and her mother, Doris Regnier, both retired teachers from Cadillac, were among the first to arrive.
“I really admire Mrs. Romney,” said Taylor, who identified herself as “a conservative teacher.”
By 1 p.m., throngs of people stretched from the entrance to the hotel’s restaurant and out the main door.
“We had to turn 50-to-100 people away,” said John Selleck, an aide with the Mitt Romney campaign.
The cheering and chants of “Go Mitt,” and other slogans started well before Romney appeared, led by state party chairman Bobby Schostak and co-chair Sharon Wise, of Traverse City.
“I’m just your warm-up act,” Schostak said.
Mrs. Romney did not come alone. State Attorney General Bill Schuette and U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek from northern Michigan’s 1st Congressional District tagged along.
“I love Michigan,” Romney told the crowd. “I’m from Michigan. I grew up in Manistee, and I won’t be happy unless we win in Michigan. What I know about Mitt is that he won’t fail and he’s going to do the right thing.”
Traverse City was her first campaign stop for the day. The call to the local GOP came about 8:15 p.m. Sunday, said Linda Witt, secretary of the Grand Traverse Republican Executive Committee.
“We were very surprised, but we were hoping,” she said. “It’s exciting.”
From Traverse City, Romney traveled to Grand Rapids for a similar rally. She also attended the Detroit Tigers-San Francisco Giants final World Series game in Detroit.
Election 2012
Related Photos
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(Record-Eagle/Loraine Anderson) Ann Romney speaks Monday at a rally in Traverse City attended by more than 550 people at the Park Place Hotel. It was the first of two campaign stops. The other rally was in Grand Rapids.
Ann Romney makes campaign stop in TC
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McDowell concedes race to Benishek
Democrat Gary McDowell has conceded his close race for Congress against Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek to serve northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
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Unofficial Antrim voting totals online
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State election results online
Full, unofficial 2012 Michigan General Election Results can be found online at http://miboecfr.nictusa.com/election/results/12GEN/.
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Michigan's 1st Congressional District may go to a recount to determine if incumbent Republican Dan Benishek's victory will hold.
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Franz wins by 1,030 votes
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MacMaster easily wins reelection
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General election roundup
Editor's note: Final, unofficial results from the Nov. 6 general election.
Continued ... - Wednesday, November 7, 2012
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McDowell hasn't conceded congressional race
Former state Rep. Gary McDowell has not conceded his race for the 1st Congressional District and will wait for county boards of canvassers to certify election results before determining his next step.
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Weaver wins spot on NMC board
Kennard Weaver ousted a long-time trustee on the board of Northwestern Michigan College to claim one of two openings.
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GT County Commission all Republican now
The lone Democrat on the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners is out of a job.
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Benishek won by less than 1 percent
Incumbent Republican Dan Benishek edged Democratic challenger Gary McDowell by less than 1 percent to win a second term representing the 1st Congressional District.
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Rendon takes 103rd state House seat
Campaign staffers for newcomer Democrat Lon Johnson has said that he lost his bid for the 103rd State House District seat to incumbent Lake City businessman and Republican Bruce R. Rendon.
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Voters appear to favor Division Street plan
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Grand Traverse, Benzie voters pick probate judges
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Three-way race for NMC trustees still open
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2 incumbents retain seats on Leelanau County board
Two incumbents on the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners won re-election.
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County board incumbents hold leads
Voters likely will return three incumbents to the Grand Traverse County board and a fourth race was too close to call early today.
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Dems look to narrow gap in House
All 110 seats in the Michigan House were up for grabs Tuesday, with Democrats looking to narrow the gap with the Republican majority that took over of the chamber just two years ago.
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Appel wins TCAPS board seat
Gary Appel appeared to cruise to re-election to the Traverse School Board.
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Franz ahead in 101st District of Michigan House
Republican Ray Franz held a lead against his Democratic opponent in the race for the Michigan House of Representatives' 101st District.
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Michigan shoots down propositions
Michigan voters say they don't need to weigh in on whether new bridges or tunnels are built between their state and Canada.
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