Gage
05-08-2013, 12:05 AM
Noticed this had not been posted, despite the announcement being about 6 days ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn_KEkxbInU
http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20130501&Category=NEWS15&ArtNo=305010092&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Congressman-Gary-Peters-run-retiring-Sen-Carl-Levin-s-seat-2014
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Gary Peters made it official: He is running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Carl Levin next year.
Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, made his intentions known in an e-mail sent Wednesday to supporters. Levin, a six-term Democrat and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced in March he would not seek re-election in 2014.
“This is a critical time for Michigan, and our main streets and middle class need an independent voice fighting for them,” Peters said in the e-mail. “Washington is a mess, but Michigan is on the verge of re-inventing itself with a new economy and a middle class that’s stronger than ever — and I want to be on the front lines of that fight.”
As a Democrat, Peters may enjoy an advantage heading into the race — it has been nearly 20 years since the state elected a Republican U.S. senator. But the e-mail never mentions his party affiliation and seeks to establish Peters’ bona fides as an independent politician.
Peters told the Free Press shortly after Levin’s decision was announced that he was seriously considering the race. Wednesday, he said that he discussed the prospect of running a statewide race with his family before jumping in.
As it stands now, he looks to be the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination. In recent weeks, one of the only other Democrats mentioned as a possible candidate, Democratic National Committee member Debbie Dingell, announced she would not run for the seat.
Most political handicappers in Washington consider the seat likely to be filled by a Democrat; no Republican has won a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan since Spencer Abraham in 1994, and he was defeated after a single term by Democrat Debbie Stabenow.
But Peters could face formidable opponents on the Republican side. Former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is looking at getting in the race, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Howell, has also said he is considering it. U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, who has made himself a nationally known figure in libertarian circles, also is looking at the race.
Bobby Schostak, chairman of the state Republican Party, said he appreciated Peters’ recognition that “under the leadership of Gov. (Rick) Snyder and the Republican-led Legislature Michigan is the comeback state.”
“If we apply the same common-sense solutions in Washington that Republicans have applied in Lansing, we can clean up the mess created by Peters and his Democrat colleagues,” Schostak said. “In order to do that, we need to send a common sense conservative leader to the Senate, not” Peters.
Peters ran unsuccessfully statewide for attorney general in 2002 but has since been on a winning streak — taking a majority Republican district based in Oakland County in 2008 from incumbent Rep. Joe Knollenberg, and last year taking a redrawn Detroit-centric district with the help of union supporters and black ministers.
In his e-mail to supporters Wednesday, Peters sounded a bipartisan note that could be important if he is to win statewide, saying it’s not only important to create jobs and help small businesses grow, but also to “get spending under control.” He also promised to fight to protect Medicare and Social Security for Michigan’s seniors, programs that he said “are under attack.”
“Set politics and party aside; if it’s not right for Michigan’s small businesses and middle class, it’s never been right with me,” the e-mail read. “I think that kind of independent approach is exactly what Michigan needs in the Senate right now.”
Speaking to the Free Press on Wednesday, Peters said a formal campaign kickoff will be held this fall, but that he is, as of now, officially a candidate.
Asked about running in a year when an incumbent Republican governor will likely lead the opposition ticket, Peters said that — and attacks on his support of Democratic health care reform and cap-and-trade environmental policies — don’t worry him.
“As long as you have a message that the people of Michigan can relate to,” he said, “you’ll do fine.” For proof, he pointed to the close race he won in 2010, despite being in a Republican-centric district that voted for Snyder as well.
“The reason I won was that people knew I was passionate about issues they care about,” he said.
Peters said he continues to work on a bipartisan basis in Congress, pushing bills such as those that would reform mortgage assistance with a key Republican. In the Senate, he said, he would press for a national urban policy to aid Detroit, and he wants to see additional support for regional transit in southeastern Michigan.
Meanwhile, he said, he would encourage policies to stabilize real estate values in urban core areas across Michigan.
Asked about gridlock in the Senate, Peters said while he believes in giving the right to filibuster legislation, he disagrees with the current 60-vote threshold needed to cut off debate. A simple majority should suffice, he said.
Peters said he will start his nascent campaign with stops Thursday in Flint and Lansing, and Friday in Grand Rapids. In the weeks to come, he said, he will go to Traverse City, Alpena and the Upper Peninsula.
http://www.freep.com/article/20130501/NEWS15/305010092/gary-peters-carl-levin-us-senate-campaign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn_KEkxbInU
http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20130501&Category=NEWS15&ArtNo=305010092&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Congressman-Gary-Peters-run-retiring-Sen-Carl-Levin-s-seat-2014
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Gary Peters made it official: He is running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Carl Levin next year.
Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, made his intentions known in an e-mail sent Wednesday to supporters. Levin, a six-term Democrat and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced in March he would not seek re-election in 2014.
“This is a critical time for Michigan, and our main streets and middle class need an independent voice fighting for them,” Peters said in the e-mail. “Washington is a mess, but Michigan is on the verge of re-inventing itself with a new economy and a middle class that’s stronger than ever — and I want to be on the front lines of that fight.”
As a Democrat, Peters may enjoy an advantage heading into the race — it has been nearly 20 years since the state elected a Republican U.S. senator. But the e-mail never mentions his party affiliation and seeks to establish Peters’ bona fides as an independent politician.
Peters told the Free Press shortly after Levin’s decision was announced that he was seriously considering the race. Wednesday, he said that he discussed the prospect of running a statewide race with his family before jumping in.
As it stands now, he looks to be the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination. In recent weeks, one of the only other Democrats mentioned as a possible candidate, Democratic National Committee member Debbie Dingell, announced she would not run for the seat.
Most political handicappers in Washington consider the seat likely to be filled by a Democrat; no Republican has won a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan since Spencer Abraham in 1994, and he was defeated after a single term by Democrat Debbie Stabenow.
But Peters could face formidable opponents on the Republican side. Former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is looking at getting in the race, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Howell, has also said he is considering it. U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, who has made himself a nationally known figure in libertarian circles, also is looking at the race.
Bobby Schostak, chairman of the state Republican Party, said he appreciated Peters’ recognition that “under the leadership of Gov. (Rick) Snyder and the Republican-led Legislature Michigan is the comeback state.”
“If we apply the same common-sense solutions in Washington that Republicans have applied in Lansing, we can clean up the mess created by Peters and his Democrat colleagues,” Schostak said. “In order to do that, we need to send a common sense conservative leader to the Senate, not” Peters.
Peters ran unsuccessfully statewide for attorney general in 2002 but has since been on a winning streak — taking a majority Republican district based in Oakland County in 2008 from incumbent Rep. Joe Knollenberg, and last year taking a redrawn Detroit-centric district with the help of union supporters and black ministers.
In his e-mail to supporters Wednesday, Peters sounded a bipartisan note that could be important if he is to win statewide, saying it’s not only important to create jobs and help small businesses grow, but also to “get spending under control.” He also promised to fight to protect Medicare and Social Security for Michigan’s seniors, programs that he said “are under attack.”
“Set politics and party aside; if it’s not right for Michigan’s small businesses and middle class, it’s never been right with me,” the e-mail read. “I think that kind of independent approach is exactly what Michigan needs in the Senate right now.”
Speaking to the Free Press on Wednesday, Peters said a formal campaign kickoff will be held this fall, but that he is, as of now, officially a candidate.
Asked about running in a year when an incumbent Republican governor will likely lead the opposition ticket, Peters said that — and attacks on his support of Democratic health care reform and cap-and-trade environmental policies — don’t worry him.
“As long as you have a message that the people of Michigan can relate to,” he said, “you’ll do fine.” For proof, he pointed to the close race he won in 2010, despite being in a Republican-centric district that voted for Snyder as well.
“The reason I won was that people knew I was passionate about issues they care about,” he said.
Peters said he continues to work on a bipartisan basis in Congress, pushing bills such as those that would reform mortgage assistance with a key Republican. In the Senate, he said, he would press for a national urban policy to aid Detroit, and he wants to see additional support for regional transit in southeastern Michigan.
Meanwhile, he said, he would encourage policies to stabilize real estate values in urban core areas across Michigan.
Asked about gridlock in the Senate, Peters said while he believes in giving the right to filibuster legislation, he disagrees with the current 60-vote threshold needed to cut off debate. A simple majority should suffice, he said.
Peters said he will start his nascent campaign with stops Thursday in Flint and Lansing, and Friday in Grand Rapids. In the weeks to come, he said, he will go to Traverse City, Alpena and the Upper Peninsula.
http://www.freep.com/article/20130501/NEWS15/305010092/gary-peters-carl-levin-us-senate-campaign