George Weeks: More repeat House races?

George Weeks

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George Weeks

November 20, 2011

By GEORGE WEEKS Syndicated Columnist The Record Eagle Tue Feb 14, 2012, 10:06 AM EST

If at first you fail in a bid for Congress, try again. Capitol Hill abounds with incumbents who did just that successfully, and in Michigan there's a scattering of those seeking or mulling reruns in 2012.

In the downstate 6th District of 13-term Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, ex-state Rep. Jack Hoogendyk, of Kalamazoo, who had 43 percent of the primary vote in losing last year to Upton, who had 57 percent, is considering another primary challenge.

Upton, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, is, along with 4th District Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, on the 12-member deficit reduction "supercommittee" that has until Nov. 23 to craft ways to trim $1.2 trillion from the deficit over a decade.

Hoogendyk was outspent by about 30 to 1, but the Detroit News reports that it is likely that if he runs he would have the backing of the well-heeled Club for Growth, an anti-tax, smaller government conservative group that has been a big factor in other races.

In the sprawling 1st District that spans both peninsulas, ex-state Rep. Gary McDowell, D-Rudyard, who got 41 percent of the 2010 vote in losing to now-Congressman Dan Benishek, R-Crystal Falls, seeks a rematch. Benishek got 52 percent, with the rest for a minor candidate.

It's also possible that another former 1st District contender will run again. Bob Carr, a businessman and historical preservationist from Traverse City and Mackinac Island who was the 1996 Republican nominee against Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, tells me he is "seriously exploring" seeking the Democratic nomination if he gets adequate assurances on fundraising potential.

In 1996, Carr raised only $5,348 while getting 27 percent of the vote but said he is getting encouraging pledges of support for a 2012 bid. He switched parties after the GOP "moved too far to the right."

A prime pitch from the energetic Carr: "This district needs a district salesperson more now than ever. I can do that."

On Friday, McDowell campaign manager Zack Knowling said McDowell has solid party support, including from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He asserted: "We don't expect a serious (primary) challenge from anybody."

Knowling also touted a recent 1st District poll conducted for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters by Public Policy Polling that, he said, indicates "an anemic job approval and a net negative favorability rating" for Benishek.

Benishek, meanwhile, remains a vocal deficit hawk on Capitol Hill. In voting last week for the Balanced Budget Amendment, he said:

"Yesterday, the federal debt passed the nightmarish threshold of $15 trillion. It seems clear that Congress needs to structurally change the way it handles taxpayer money. The federal government must stop deficit-financing by borrowing 40 cents for every dollar it spends. A Balanced Budget Amendment is a commonsense measure that is long, long overdue."

(While a majority of the House voted for the measure, 261-165, a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority. Another northern congressman, 2nd District freshman Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, said, "Washington missed yet another opportunity to truly change course on its spending crisis.")

Derek Bailey's fast start

While much of his initial efforts have been below media radars, Derek Bailey, chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, is off to an aggressive start in his quest for the Democratic nomination to oppose Benishek.

Since I reported in early September that he was exploring a run, Bailey subsequently announced, assembled some high-profile supporters, and has traveled widely to raise money. Campaign manager Christine Stalsonburg said the goal is $250,000 by year's end.

In addition to tapping potential contributors in Washington and elsewhere, he has made appeals to American Indian tribes (eight of Michigan's 12 tribes are located in the 1st District), including a trip to Oregon to the annual Convention of the National Congress of American Indians.

Bailey emphasizes that his concerns go far beyond tribal issues. Last week, for example, he called on Benishek to co-sponsor the Stock Act, a bill aimed against members of Congress who trade on insider information.

Bailey, citing a CBS program on congressional ethics issues regarding members of both parties who, he said, involved those who made trades close to times Congress acted on industries affected by the congressional action, said: "The public should have every confidence that no member of Congress should be benefiting financially from information gained from inside the halls of Congress."

Also last week, Bailey said in the Glen Arbor Sun that he has received emails of support from both parties and that half of the members of his exploratory committee were Republicans.

He told the Sun: "I've been able to work as tribal chairman with local, state and federal officials from both parties."

That includes the administrations of President Barack Obama and Gov. Rick Snyder, both of whom are pictured in Bailey's campaign materials.