Crowded field looks to gubernatorial race

By Louie Meizlish

Daily Staff Reporter

Former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, who lost his 1990 bid for re-election to current Gov. John Engler, filed paperwork yesterday to set up a campaign committee, paving the way for a bid to replace Engler next year.

Engler, a Republican, will be forced out of office in 2002 due to term limits, and Blanchard, a democrat, is the latest in a crowd of prominent Michiganians considering a run for the open seat.

On the Democratic side, there are at least six potential candidates. One Democrat, Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith of Salem Township, has said she will definitely enter the race and has already filed to form a campaign committee. But Smith is by most accounts less prominent than other Democrats considering a run.

Blanchard, who served from 1983 until his defeat in 1990 by then-Senate Majority Leader Engler, said he received an "overwhelming" response from supporters indicating he should run.

"I am looking to putting together an agenda that fires people up and fires me up," he said earlier this month. The Engler administration, Blanchard said, is "stuck in the nineties. They are advertising my old programs like the education savings plan and computers in the classroom."

U.S. Rep. David Bonior of Mt. Clemens reportedly also is considering a run. His decision will likely hinge on whether the GOP-controlled state Legislature reapportions congressional district lines in such a way that would force the Democratic whip out of office.

It is also appears Democrats are waiting on state Attorney General Jennifer Granholm's decision on the race for governor. Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics, said Granholm is being watched closely as a potential candidate not only because she is the only Democrat in a statewide office but also because she is "a very charismatic person and very popular. She does not have any baggage that is negative."

Dennis Denno, spokesman for the Michigan Democratic Party, said a contested primary could hurt the party's chances in the general election. "The problem with primaries at times is that they can be very negative and a drain on resources," he said.

The Democratic wildcard is Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who successfully secured the Democratic nomination in 1998 before being trounced by Engler in the general election. Fieger has said he might run as an independent. Ballenger said Fieger "would pose serious danger for the Democrats."

Also mentioned in the race is former U.S. Sen. Donald Riegle, who served from 1976 to 1995 and currently is the director of a public relations firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.

On the Republican side, the two prospective candidates most discussed are Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus and Secretary of State Candice Miller.

"The lieutenant governor is considering a number of options," including private sector work, said Matt Resch, Posthumus' press secretary, and the governor's office is "one of the options, clearly."

The secretary of state's office was equally vague. Miller spokeswoman Liz Boyd said a run for governor has not been ruled out. Miller "has formed a campaign committee, but has not decided what office she is running for," Boyd said. Due to term limits, Miller is unable to seek another term as secretary of state.

Both offices said decisions regarding the race can be expected later this year.

A wildcard candidate is Senate Majority Leader Dan DeGrow (R-Port Huron), who, like the other two Republicans mentioned as potential candidates, is giving "serious thought" to running for a statewide office, said Aaron Keesler, DeGrow's press secretary.

Posthumus may face an uphill climb in his bid for the governor's mansion. His name recognition appears to be poor, and in a recent EPIC/MRA poll, he trailed Blanchard 45 percent to 26 percent, spokesman Ed Sarpolus said.

But, Ballenger said, Engler might be able to help his deputy in that respect. Engler's term as president of the Republican Governor's Association ends in the summer of 2002, which may give him an excuse to resign the governorship.

That, said Ballenger, would let Posthumus serve as governor for the waning months of the term in order to get publicity and name recognition.

This is a strategy which worked for Republican Gov. George Romney in 1969, when he resigned in order to give Lt. Gov. William Milliken a boost in his gubernatorial bid.

"Many people believe he (Milliken) never would have won if that did not happen," Ballenger said.