Michigan gubernatorial election, 2006

The Michigan gubernatorial election of 2006 was one of the 36 U.S. gubernatorial elections held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

Jennifer Granholm

Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, and author who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor...

was re-elected over Republican businessman Dick DeVos

Dick DeVos

Dick DeVos is a businessman and Republican politician from Michigan. The son of billionaire Amway co-founder Richard DeVos, he served as CEO of the multi-level marketing consumer goods distribution company from 1993–2002...

, Libertarian

Libertarian Party of Michigan

The Libertarian Party of Michigan was founded in Taylor, Michigan in 1972 and remains on the ballot; as Michigan’s third oldest active political party...

Gregory Creswell

Gregory “Greg” Creswell is a Libertarian politician from Michigan. He made the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative the centerpiece of his 2006 campaign for governor. The measure passed, by a 16% margin, even though it was opposed by Creswell's gubernatorial rivals and a conglomerate of groups called...

, Green

Green Party (United States)

The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...

Douglas Campbell

Douglas Campbell (Michigan politician)

Douglas Campbell is a two-time Green Party Candidate for Governor of Michigan and a 2008 candidate for the United States House of Representatives. In 2002 Campbell received 25,236 votes...

, and U.S. Taxpayer Candidate Bhagwan Dashairya. The margin (rounded to the nearest percent) was 56% (Granholm

Jennifer Granholm

), 42% (DeVos

Dick DeVos

), 1% (Creswell

Gregory Creswell

), 1% (Campbell

Douglas Campbell (Michigan politician)

Douglas Campbell is a two-time Green Party Candidate for Governor of Michigan and a 2008 candidate for the United States House of Representatives. In 2002 Campbell received 25,236 votes...

) and <1% (Dashairya).

Background

After her first election as Governor in 2002, Granholm was widely seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

. However, due in large part to a weak Michigan economy

Economy

An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...

and high unemployment, her popularity dropped sharply after she took office in 2003. In August 2006, her approval rating was 47 percent. Former Alticor

Alticor

Alticor is a privately held corporation, owned and run by members of the DeVos and Van Andel families. It was established in 1999 to serve as the parent company for a handful of business ventures, most notably the direct selling company Amway and Quixtar and a manufacturing and distribution...

president Dick DeVos

Dick DeVos

, a son of billionaire

Billionaire

A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...

Amway

Amway is a direct selling company and manufacturer that uses network marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos...

co-founder Richard DeVos

Richard DeVos

Richard DeVos, Sr. is an American businessman, co-founder of Amway along with Jay Van Andel , and owner of the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team...

, a Republican, declared his candidacy against Granholm on June 2, 2005.

DeVos brought significant assets to the race. A multimillionaire, he had developed substantial political contacts with the full participation of his wife, former Michigan Republican Party

Michigan Republican Party

The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan. It is sometimes referred to as MIGOP, which simply means Michigan Grand Old Party....

chairman Betsy DeVos

Betsy DeVos

Elisabeth "Betsy" DeVos is an American politician and school choice activist from the state of Michigan. She is a former chairperson of the Michigan Republican Party.-Family background and education:...

, despite which, fully 85% of the DeVos campaign's contributions were from DeVos' inheritance. As the 2006 election approached, the DeVos family was listed among the biggest Republican campaign contributors in Michigan.

The DeVos and Campbell campaigns each made a major issue of the state's economy. DeVos assailed the Single Business Tax and the economic doldrums & job outsourcing which occurred during Granholm's first term; Campbell assailed the $12 billion taken from Michigan's taxpayers and appropriated to the military siege of Iraq (which he calls "Duhbbya's Folly") and advocated for a local currency, independent of the U.S. dollar which he and running mate David Skrbina

David Skrbina

David Skrbina is a pioneer of ecophilosophy. He stood for the office of Lieutenant Governor for the U.S. state of Michigan as the Green Party candidate in 2006, as the running mate of Douglas Campbell....

say is in imminent jeopardy of collapse. Granholm responded that her policies have saved thousands of jobs. She also attacked DeVos's partisanship, wealth, and tenure at Alticor. DeVos, Campbell and Granholm all assailed the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative

Michigan Civil Rights Initiative

The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative , or Proposal 2 , was a ballot initiative in the U.S. state of Michigan that passed into Michigan Constitutional law by a 58% to 42% margin on November 7, 2006, according to results officially certified by the Michigan Secretary of State. By Michigan law, the...

which was exclusively supported by Creswell

Gregory Creswell

, and passed by a landslide.

Candidates

Democrat Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, and author who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor...

, incumbent governor and former attorney general
Republican Dick DeVos
Dick DeVos
Dick DeVos is a businessman and Republican politician from Michigan. The son of billionaire Amway co-founder Richard DeVos, he served as CEO of the multi-level marketing consumer goods distribution company from 1993–2002...

, former Alticor
Alticor
Alticor is a privately held corporation, owned and run by members of the DeVos and Van Andel families. It was established in 1999 to serve as the parent company for a handful of business ventures, most notably the direct selling company Amway and Quixtar and a manufacturing and distribution...

/Amway
Amway
Amway is a direct selling company and manufacturer that uses network marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos...

president
Libertarian
Libertarian Party of Michigan
The Libertarian Party of Michigan was founded in Taylor, Michigan in 1972 and remains on the ballot; as Michigan’s third oldest active political party...

Greg Creswell
Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...

Douglas Campbell
Douglas Campbell (Michigan politician)
Douglas Campbell is a two-time Green Party Candidate for Governor of Michigan and a 2008 candidate for the United States House of Representatives. In 2002 Campbell received 25,236 votes...

– engineer from Ferndale
Ferndale, Michigan
Ferndale is adjacent to the cities of Detroit to the south, Oak Park to the west, Hazel Park to the east, Pleasant Ridge to the north, Royal Oak Township to the southwest, and Royal Oak to the north....
Constitution Party (listed on ballot as U.S. Taxpayers Party)
Constitution Party (United States)
The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...

Bhagwan Dashairya

Defeated primary candidate

Republican Dr. Louis Boven, a Holland, MI chiropractor, was running a write-in campaign for the Republican primary. Boven tried to make the primary ballot but fell short of the 15,000 signatures needed to have a name placed on the ballot for governor.

Primary contests

Granholm had no opposition in the primary election

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

, which was held August 8.

DeVos was originally facing two other Republicans; state Representative Jack Hoogendyk

Jack Hoogendyk

Jacob "Jack" Hoogendyk is a Republican politician, a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and 2008 Republican candidate for the U.S...

of Portage

Portage, Michigan

Portage is a city in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 46,292 at the 2010 census. It is the smaller of the two main cities included in the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 326,589 as of 2010.Portage is adjacent to the...

and state Senator Nancy Cassis

Nancy Cassis

Nancy Cassis is an American teacher and psychologist. As a Michigan Senator who initially ran against Dick DeVos, he dropped out of the contest before Michigan's 2006 gubernatorial Republican primary. In the Michigan Senate she serves as the Majority Caucus Chairperson.Cassis is a Novi resident...

of Novi

Novi, Michigan

Novi is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,224, an increase over the 2000 census count of 47,386. The city is located approximately northwest of the center of Detroit, and northeast of the center of Ann Arbor. The city is located...

, both dropped out by summer 2005. A political unknown, Louis Boven tried to challenge him in the primary, but failed to meet Michigan election requirements to get on the ballot. Boven later ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign.

Criticisms of Governor Granholm

Opponents of Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

Governor Jennifer Granholm

Jennifer Granholm

pointed out that every other state gained jobs in 2005–2006 except Michigan. The plight of Michigan's automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

and other manufacturing

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

industries was so bad during this period that candidate DeVos felt forced to criticize his fellow Republican, President George W. Bush, for the President's disiniclination to meet with top automaking executives to discuss the state of the industry (August 23, 2006). Bush did announce afterwards that he will meet with automakers after the November election.

Granholm was also attacked for allegedly supporting Michigan's single business tax

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

(SBT), something that no other state uses. Granholm responded that she did not support the SBT, but rather opposed plans by the Republican-controlled state legislature to eliminate the tax without replacing the lost revenue.

DeVos complained, on March 9, 2006, that a public service announcement

Public service announcement

A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...

telling residents who to contact if they cannot afford to pay their heating costs during Michigan's freezing winter, produced by DTE Energy Co. and given by Granholm was in his opinion a Granholm campaign commercial in disguise.

Criticisms of the DeVos campaign

Some of DeVos' critics asserted that his leadership of highly controversial Alticor

Alticor

, the parent company of Amway

Amway

and Quixtar

Quixtar

Amway Global is a multi-level marketing or network marketing company, founded 1959 in Ada, Michigan, United States...

, the world's largest multi-level marketing organization, should have disqualified him from holding public office. Critics of DeVos also claimed that under his management Alticor

Alticor

outsourced

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...

1,400 jobs to China

Economy of the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China ranks since 2010 as the world's second largest economy after the United States. It has been the world's fastest-growing major economy, with consistent growth rates of around 10% over the past 30 years. China is also the largest exporter and second largest importer of...

. The DeVos campaign responded that more than 300 high paying jobs were created in Michigan to support the expansion of Alticor into China, and no product produced in China is even shipped to the United States. DeVos also says that no American job went to a Chinese worker. This would show that Alticor has not directly outsourced jobs, but is growing into a global company. It is unclear whether Alticor considered exporting goods from Michigan to China.

After initially opposing Governor Granholm's policy of ordering the lowering of flags at half-staff to honor Michigan soldiers who died in action in the Iraq War, DeVos reversed himself on June 7, 2006 after receiving several complaints from veterans and their families.

DeVos made economic issues a priority. Detroit News

The Detroit News

The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...

columnist Laura Berman asserted in July 2006 that the candidate was coy when asked about social issues. DeVos was also described as being silent on environmental issues.

DeVos' plan to eliminate a tax on business equipment which funds local governments and schools raised the ire of some local officials.

Some Michigan Republicans were described as supporting Granholm.

Lieutenant governor candidates

Incumbent Lieutenant Governor John D. Cherry

John D. Cherry

John D. Cherry was the 60th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan of the U.S. state of Michigan from 2003 to 2011. Cherry served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, and was the immediate past chair of the international Great Lakes Commission .Cherry was an announced...

was Granholm's running mate on the Democratic side.

On the Republican side, DeVos selected former State Representative

Michigan State House of Representatives

The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2000 federal U.S. Census.Members are elected in...

and Oakland

Oakland County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...

County Clerk Ruth Johnson

Ruth Johnson

Ruth Johnson is the current Secretary of State of Michigan. She is a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and the 2006 Republican candidate for lieutenant governor as the running mate of Dick DeVos....

as his running mate on August 14.

Other running mates were Scotty Boman for the Libertarian Party, David Skrbina

David Skrbina

for the Green Party and Carl Oehling for the Constitution Party.

Tax statements for 2006 candidates

Granholm and her husband earned about $178,000 last year in gross income

Gross income

Gross income in United States tax law is receipts and gains from all sources less cost of goods sold. Gross income is the starting point for determining Federal and state income tax of individuals, corporations, estates and trusts, whether resident or nonresident."Except as otherwise provided" by...

and paid $35,000 in state and federal taxes, according to published 2005 tax returns.
DeVos has not disclosed his personal tax statements. Without releasing actual documents, it is unclear whether the information contained in the tax statements would reveal any conflicts of interest for DeVos as governor of Michigan. A conflict did emerge previously involving the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel

Amway Grand Plaza Hotel

Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is named after Amway Corporation, which is based in nearby Ada Township.Originally known as The Pantlind Hotel , Amway Grand Plaza Hotel reopened in 1981 after extensive renovations done by Marvin DeWinter & Associates including the...

in Grand Rapids of which DeVos is a partial owner, due to some conferences the state government has held there.
Michigan Democratic Party chairman Mark Brewer and the Granholm campaign have criticized the DeVoses for not releasing his tax returns. DeVos campaign spokesman John Truscott

John Truscott

John Truscott was an Australian actor, production designer and costume designer. He won two Academy Awards for his work on the 1967 film Camelot....

said voters are more worried about the economy than what's being paid in taxes.
Neither Creswell nor Campbell released personal tax statements to the media.

Campaign ads

DeVos spent at least $39 million on campaign ads, and $41 million overall, which is more money spent than any other gubernatorial candidate in Michigan History. The Granholm campaign spent at least $13.8 million. The combined money spent by both campaigns made this election the most expensive gubernatorial election in Michigan history. Because of the funds DeVos spent out of his own pockets, he was not eligible for public funds like the Granholm campaign.

A political ad aired by the DeVos campaign in late July raised the ire of the Detroit Free Press

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...

and Lansing State Journal

Lansing State Journal

The Lansing State Journal is a daily newspaper published in Lansing, Michigan owned by Gannett.-Overview:The Lansing State Journal is the sole daily newspaper published in metropolitan Lansing...

newspapers alleging selective editing of their newspaper articles in a negative fashion to Granholm.

In September 2006, the DeVos campaign asked the media to stop airing anti-DeVos ads created by the Democratic party (representing Jennifer Granholm). The CBS affiliate in Cadillac, Michigan is the only known television station to stop airing the ad.

All campaigns made extensive use of the Internet to promote their candidate and criticize the opponents.

In October 2006, the Creswell campaign spent over $10,000 on radio advertising, which while small, was the most spent on a such advertising by any Michigan gubernatorial campaign outside the Democratic or Republican parties. The largest investment was made in advertisements on Detroit AM Radio stations WJR

WJR

WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It broadcasts a news/talk format. It is a class A clear channel station whose broadcasts can be heard throughout most of the Midwest, eastern United States and Canada at night, making it one of the most powerful radio stations in the...

and WXYT. These commercials specifically targeted Devos and Granholm by referring to them as candidates of “The two old parties,” and berating them for supporting state-supported preferences based on race and sex: A clear reference to MCRI.

The Campbell

Douglas Campbell (Michigan politician)

Douglas Campbell is a two-time Green Party Candidate for Governor of Michigan and a 2008 candidate for the United States House of Representatives. In 2002 Campbell received 25,236 votes...

Campaign spent less than $1,000, as was the case with the Dashairya campaign.

In a controversial move, the Michigan Republican Party issued a mailing blaming Granholm for a triple murder committed by two people one of whom was mistakenly paroled. The murders led to changes in procedures and the firing of several parole workers.

The Detroit Effect

On August 25, 2006, Detroit Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

Kwame Kilpatrick

Kwame Malik Kilpatrick is a former mayor of Detroit, Michigan. Kilpatrick's mayorship was plagued by numerous scandals and rampant accusations of corruption, with the mayor eventually resigning after being charged with ten felony counts, including perjury and obstruction of justice...

pledged to actively campaign for Granholm and utilize the campaign team which got him re-elected as mayor.
The Michigan Democratic Party held their state convention in city of Detroit at Cobo Hall

Cobo Hall

Gavin Hamilton memorial arena is a major convention center situated along Jefferson Ave. in downtown Detroit, Michigan, USA. It was named for Albert E. Cobo, mayor of Detroit from 1950 to 1957. Designed by Gino Rossetti, opened in 1960. Expanded in 1989, the present complex contains of exhibition...

while the Michigan Republican Party held their convention in the City of Novi

Novi, Michigan

in Oakland County at the new Rock Financial Showplace. The Libertarian Party of Michigan

Libertarian Party of Michigan

The Libertarian Party of Michigan was founded in Taylor, Michigan in 1972 and remains on the ballot; as Michigan’s third oldest active political party...

held their convention at the Comfort Inn in Chelsea

Chelsea, Michigan

Chelsea is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,398 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a village....

. The Green Party

Green Party (United States)

had their convention at the Wolverine Dilworth Inn in Boyne City, Michigan

Boyne City, Michigan

Boyne City is a city in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,503 at the 2000 census.Boyne City is at the southeast end of the east arm of Lake Charlevoix, where the Boyne River enters the lake...

Granholm endorsements

Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
Kwame Kilpatrick
Kwame Malik Kilpatrick is a former mayor of Detroit, Michigan. Kilpatrick's mayorship was plagued by numerous scandals and rampant accusations of corruption, with the mayor eventually resigning after being charged with ten felony counts, including perjury and obstruction of justice...
Many Michigan Teamsters Unions
Former boxer Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
United Food and Commercial Workers
United Food and Commercial Workers
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in many industries, including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile, G4S Security, chemical...
Michigan Fraternal Order of Police
Fraternal Order of Police
The Fraternal Order of Police is an organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It claims a membership of over 325,000 members organized in 2100 local chapters , organized into local lodges, state lodges, and the national Grand Lodge...
Michigan League of Conservation Voters
The Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
Michigan Nurses Association
EMILY's List
EMILY's List
EMILY's List is a political action committee in the United States that aims to help elect female candidates to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1984....
Senator John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
The Alpena News
Alpena News
The Alpena News is a general daily newspaper in the City of Alpena, Michigan. USA. It has an approximate circulation of 10,000, and is published by Ogden Newspapers Inc. News reports are available on line. The paper was founded in 1902. The paper currently has between 20 to 50 employees.It is...
The Ann Arbor News
Ann Arbor News
The Ann Arbor News was a newspaper serving Washtenaw and Livingston counties in Michigan. Published in Ann Arbor, under various names from 1835 to 2009, The News was part of Booth Newspapers, owned by Advance Publications Inc. The News was published in the afternoons Monday through Friday and in...
The Battle Creek Enquirer
The Bay City Times
Bay City Times
The Bay City Times is a newspaper published in Bay City, Michigan, United States, published Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, with a Tuesday edition jointly-published with The Saginaw News. The paper is published by Booth Newspapers, owned by Advance Publications...
The Detroit Free Press
The Flint Journal
Flint Journal
The Flint Journal is the largest newspaper published in Flint, Michigan. Published Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, it serves Genesee, Lapeer and Shiawassee Counties...
The Grand Haven Tribune
Grand Haven Tribune
The Grand Haven Tribune is the daily newspaper in Grand Haven, Michigan. The Tribune is an afternoon paper Monday to Friday and morning paper on Saturdays. It is not published on Sundays and major holidays. The newspaper is sold for $.50 daily and $.75 on Saturday...
Greenville Daily News
The Huron Daily Tribune
Huron Daily Tribune
The Huron Daily Tribune is a daily newspaper in Bad Axe, Michigan. The newspaper, owned by Hearst Corporation since 1979, serves Huron County, in the upper part of "The Thumb".- Awards :...
The Kalamazoo Gazette
Kalamazoo Gazette
The Kalamazoo Gazette is the daily newspaper in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. The Gazette is owned by Booth Newspapers which is owned by Advance Publications....
The Lansing State Journal
Lansing State Journal
The Lansing State Journal is a daily newspaper published in Lansing, Michigan owned by Gannett.-Overview:The Lansing State Journal is the sole daily newspaper published in metropolitan Lansing...
Ludington Daily News
Macomb Evening News
The Michigan Daily
Michigan Daily
The Michigan Daily is the daily student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other student groups, but shares a university building with other...
The Muskegon Chronicle
Muskegon Chronicle
The Muskegon Chronicle is a daily newspaper in Muskegon, Michigan owned by Booth newspapers. It started publication in the early-to-mid-19th century. In May 2007, the paper celebrated 150 years. Click the Muskegon Chronicle on Mlive.com link below and look for 150 years in right column under...
The Petoskey News-Review
The Port Huron Times-Herald
The Saginaw News
The State News
Sturgis Journal
The Traverse City Record-Eagle
Traverse City Record-Eagle
The Traverse City Record-Eagle is a daily morning newspaper based in Traverse City, Michigan. It calls itself "Northern Michigan's Newspaper".The newspaper formerly was owned by Dow Jones & Company, also publishers of the Wall Street Journal...

DeVos endorsements

President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
U.S. Senator of Arizona John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
Michigan Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
Michigan Farm Bureau
Michigan Association of Realtors
Police Officers Association of Michigan
Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca is an American businessman known for engineering the Mustang, the unsuccessful Ford Pinto, being fired from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s...
Michigan Right to Life
Michigan Bankers Association
American Bikers Aiming Toward Education
The Adrian Daily Telegram
The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
The Grand Rapids Press
The Jackson Citizen-Patriot
Livingston County Daily Press
The Macomb Daily
The Oakland Press
The Oakland Press
The Oakland Press is a daily newspaper published in Oakland County, Michigan. Owned by Journal Register Company, The Oakland Press was originally named The Pontiac Press until 1972.-External links:* *...
St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

No endorsements

Michigan Manufacturers Association
Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce
The Midland Daily News
Midland Daily News
The Midland Daily News is a daily newspaper which serves Midland County, Michigan. The offices for the paper are located at 124 South McDonald Street in downtown Midland. Although the main offices are located in Midland, the paper is widely circulated around Midland County...

Debates

The DeVos and Granholm campaigns agreed to three televised debates. Granholm and DeVos appeared together October 12 at the Detroit Economic Club

Detroit Economic Club

The Detroit Economic Club, headquartered at 211 West Fort Street in downtown Detroit, Michigan, was formed in 1934 as a platform for the discussion and debate of important business, government and social issues...

in which each candidate delivered their job plans.

WKAR-TV debate

The first one was October 2 at WKAR-TV

WKAR-TV

WKAR-TV is a PBS-member station serving the Lansing, Michigan area. It is owned by Michigan State University. The station broadcasts on digital channel 40, which redirects to its former analog channel 23 via PSIP). Its studios are located on MSU's campus in East Lansing, its city of license...

in East Lansing

East Lansing, Michigan

East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...

. Minor-party candidates were excluded from the WKAR debate because none of them met WKAR's 5% threshold of support in polls, despite the fact the virtually none of the pollsters even asked voters about them. (see "Polls", below) Each of the televised debates were constrained in scope and format by a ten-page bilateral agreement between the Granholm an Devos campaigns, which Campbell, Creswell and Dashairya were not part of. Both candidates spent the hour trading charges and countercharges. Detroit News pollster Ed Sarpolus indicated that there was no clear winner in the debate, but Bill Rustem, senior vice president of the nonpartisan policy firm Public Sector Consultants in Lansing, favored Granholm. The consensus of pundits Bill Ballenger, George Bullard, Kathy Barks Hoffman and Rick Albin and capital correspondent Tim Skubick, speaking on the October 6 WKAR-television program Off the Record, was that both DeVos and Granholm emerged losers, losing 2 and 4 percentage points' support after the event. No major gaffes or zingers came out in the debate. Some of the positions were made clear on stem cell research and abortion. One minor zinger was made by Granholm about DeVos' investment in a chain of nursing homes which abused its patients.

WOOD-TV debate

The second was October 10 at WOOD-TV

WOOD-TV

WOOD-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southwestern Michigan licensed to Grand Rapids. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter in Middleville near the Barry and Allegan County line. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Charter channel...

in Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...

. This debate was more structured than the first debate, but still only included two of the five gubernatorial candidates. DeVos was more aggressive than before, declaring that Granholm had lied about him having a controlling stake in Alterra Health Care, an elder-care company that suppressed information about the abuse of residents by its employees. According to SEC filings, DeVos and his investment partners jointly owned 40% of Alterra stock totalling $173 million. The chairman of Alterra's board, while a close associate of DeVos, nevertheless maintains that DeVos had no part of running the company himself.

DeVos also asserted that he had convinced President Bush to set a date to meet with the three major Michigan auto companies. Granholm responded that she didn't believe that was true. DeVos admitted after the debate that he misspoke; the President agreed to have a meeting at some point after the election, but did not confirm a date. On October 24, two weeks after this debate was held, a mid-November date was set for the meeting.

WXYZ-TV debate

The third televised debate was October 16 at WXYZ-TV

WXYZ-TV

WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...

in Southfield

Southfield, Michigan

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 0.04% is water. The main branch of the River Rouge runs through Southfield. The city is bounded to the south by Eight Mile Road, its western border is Inkster Road, and to the east it is bounded by Greenfield Road...

. Unlike the previous debates, this one had an invited studio audience of 30 undecided voters, some of whom asked questions to the participating candidates. Like the two previous debates, only two of the five candidates were admitted. Granholm and DeVos sparred on various issues including college tuition, Canadian trash, business taxes, President Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

and negative ads, while Creswell supporters picketed outside.

During the opening statements of the third debate, Gov. Granholm attacked DeVos for using pictures of dead children as a campaign tool against her. However, it has come to show that Devos was not the person using the pictures, but supporters of him, who were cheering for him outside of the debate studio.

CMN-TV (of Troy) debate

This debate was broadcast on October 18 from CMN-TV in Troy

Troy, Michigan

Troy is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, and is a suburb of Detroit. The population was 80,980 at the 2010 census, making it the 11th-largest city in Michigan by population, and the largest city in Oakland County...

at 5:30 PM. It was the only televised debate to which all gubernatorial candidates were invited. It also was only the only televised debate in which the majority of gubernatorial candidates participated. This debate included Libertarian

Libertarian Party of Michigan

The Libertarian Party of Michigan was founded in Taylor, Michigan in 1972 and remains on the ballot; as Michigan’s third oldest active political party...

Gregory Creswell

, Green

Green Party (United States)

Douglas Campbell

Douglas Campbell (Michigan politician)

Douglas Campbell is a two-time Green Party Candidate for Governor of Michigan and a 2008 candidate for the United States House of Representatives. In 2002 Campbell received 25,236 votes...

, and U.S. Taxpayer Candidate Bhagwan Dashairya (Dashairya identified himself as a Constitution Party (listed on ballot as U.S. Taxpayers Party)

Constitution Party (United States)

The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party by Howard Philips in 1991. Phillips was the party's candidate in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential elections...

candidate). http://www.scottyboman.org

Bhagwan Dashairya

Bhagwan Dashairya (born October 15, 1938) was the 2006 US Taxpayers' Party candidate for Governor of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. The Michigan US Taxpayers' Party is affiliated with the United States Constitution Party

Constitution Party (United States)

, but Michigan election law does not provide a mechanism for changing the name of a political party.

Dashairya is the first Asian Indian to run for Michigan's highest office. He has two B.S. degrees: One in mathematics from Allahabad University, and the other in mechanical engineering from Banaras Hindu University in Banaras.
He also has three graduate degrees: An MS and a Ph.D. in engineering sciences from the University of Mississippi and a Master of Business Administration from Davenport University in Dearborn, Michigan.

As of 2006 Deshairya ran a management consultant firm and serves as executive director of the Council of Organizations of Asian Indians in Michigan (COAIM). He has a PhD in engineering science and a Masters in business. He has sat on several boards and has sought city council, county commissioner and mayoral positions in the past.

Deshirya came in fifth place in the 2006 Michigan gubernatorial election with 7,087 votes statewide, ahead of Angelo Brown, Bob Jones and Timothy Wellsted.

In May 2007 Dashairya ran for the Wayne-Westland School Board.

Bagwan Dasairya Links

Running mate: Carl Oehling

Carl Oehling (Born August 28, 1932) was the 2006 US Taxpayer Party candidate for Lt. Governor of Michigan. The Michigan US Taxpayers party is affiliated with the United States Constitution Party, but Michigan Law does not provide a mechanism for changing the name of a political party. Oehling and his running mate Bhagwan Deshirya came in fifth place in the 2006 Michigan gubernatorial election with 7,087 votes statewide.

He is an opponent of abortion, and claims to have been nearly aborted himself. He is the Berrien and Cass County contact for Michigan Citizens for Life, and has acted as a Michigan spokesperson for the anti-abortion movement in a number of newspaper interviews. He has also run for the Coloma School Board, Berrien County sheriff. In addition to being an active force in Michigan politics, he hosts the web page for the Constitution Part of Illinois.

Carl Oehling went to Lutheran Schools most of his life, graduating in 1951. He attended Lawrence Institute of Technology, Wayne State University and received a degree in Zoology at Michigan State University in 1962.

He has two children and worked in the Human Anatomy Department at MSU until 1968. Oehling worked at a number of jobs related to medicine and management at Coloma Fabricare prior to his retirement at the age of 65.

Carl Oehling links

Election results

Polling

DeVos, buoyed by the political ads he ran, led in the polls for most of the Summer. DeVos' lead eroded when Granholm ads started running and Granholm had built up a lead as voters found out more about the candidates culminating in the three debates, and as political fortunes soured for Republicans across the country.

Source	Date	Granholm (D)	DeVos (R)	Creswell (L)	Campbell (G)	Dashairya (T)
EPIC-MRA	Nov 6, 2006	49%	42%
Strategic Vision	Nov 6, 2006	52%	42%	(no option)	(no option)	(no option)
Mason-Dixon	Nov 5, 2006	52%	38%	0–2%	0–2%	0–2%
Survey USA	Nov 5, 2006	51%	45%	2%	1%	1%
Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll	Nov 5, 2006	54%	41%
EPIC-MRA	Nov 3, 2006	49%	42%
EPIC-MRA	Nov 2, 2006	52%	43%
Strategic Vision	Nov 2, 2006	50%	42%	(no option)	(no option)	(no option)
EPIC-MRA	Oct 31, 2006	52%	42%
Zogby/WSJ	Oct 31, 2006	51.6%	42.7%	0–5.7%	0–5.7%	0–5.7%
EPIC-MRA	Oct 27, 2006	48%	43%	1%	1%
Research 2000	Oct 25, 2006	50%	40%
Survey USA	Oct 25, 2006	52%	45%	1%	1%
Rasmussen	Oct 25, 2006	53%	42%
Strategic Vision	Oct 24, 2006	47%	43%
Zogby/WSJ	Oct 19, 2006	50.6%	44.1%
Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll	Oct 15, 2006	49%	41%
EPIC-MRA (raw data)	Oct 13, 2006	51%	42%	2%
Survey USA	Oct 9, 2006	50%	45%	1%	1%	1%
Rasmussen	Oct 8, 2006	49%	42%
EPIC-MRA	Oct 5, 2006	46%	40%	1%	1%
Zogby/WSJ	Sept 28, 2006	49.9%	40.8%
Strategic Vision	Sept 20, 2006	47%	46%
Survey USA	Sept 18, 2006	47%	47%	1%	2%	1%
EPIC-MRA	Sept. 14, 2006	50%	42%
Zogby/WSJ	Sept. 11, 2006	49.4%	44.0%
Rasmussen	Sept. 7, 2006	46%	48%
Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll	Sept. 3, 2006	46%	44%
Strategic Vision	August 29, 2006	48%	43%
Zogby/WSJ	August 28, 2006	50.8%	43.6%
EPIC-MRA	August 23, 2006	49%	42%	3%
Survey USA	August 22, 2006	47%	47%
Rasmussen	August 16, 2006	47%	46%
EPIC-MRA	August 16, 2006	50%	47%
Survey USA	August 8, 2006	42%	50%	6%
Rasmussen	August 1, 2006	42%	48%
Strategic Vision	July 27, 2006	44%	48%
EPIC-MRA	July 26, 2006	47%	44%
Zogby/WSJ	July 24, 2006	50.5%	44.4%
Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll	July 15, 2006	42%	47%
Zogby/WSJ	June 21, 2006	48.1%	46.2%
EPIC-MRA	June 21, 2006	44%	46%
Strategic Vision	June 21, 2006	41%	48%
Rasmussen	June 14, 2006	44%	42%
EPIC-MRA	June 12, 2006	40%	48%
Strategic Vision	May 24, 2006	42%	45%
EPIC-MRA	May 11, 2006	45%	46%
MRG of Lansing	May 1–9, 2006	43%	44%
Rasmussen	May 5, 2006	44%	43%
Strategic Vision	April 21, 2006	43%	42%
EPIC-MRA	April 11, 2006	43%	43%
Rasmussen	March 27, 2006	44%	44%
MRG of Lansing	March 22, 2006	43%	41%
Strategic Vision	March 15, 2006	50%	33%
EPIC-MRA	March 9, 2006	51%	41%
Rasmussen	Feb 14, 2006	44%	43%
EPIC-MRA	Feb 12, 2006	53%	36%
Strategic Vision	Feb 3, 2006	48%	34%
Rasmussen	Jan 20, 2006	49%	38%
Strategic Vision	Dec 22, 2005	46%	35%
Rasmussen	Dec 2, 2005	48%	36%
EPIC-MRA	Nov 29, 2005	58%	35%
Strategic Vision	Nov 21, 2005	44%	33%
EPIC-MRA	Oct 25, 2005	53%	30%
Strategic Vision	Oct 25, 2005	46%	35%
Strategic Vision	Sept 29, 2005	47%	33%

External links

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