The official results from the MI01 congressional GOP primary are in and Dan Benishek has won by 15 votes. (I embedded the results by county below)
Because the results are so close, Jason Allen will probably demand a recount but I hope he doesn’t. Instead, I hope he considers the constituents of Michigan’s 1st Congressional District and just says no to dragging this thing out any further. Challenging the results of the primary will only weaken the winner, which after a long and costly recount will most likely still be Dr. Benishek, increasing the chances that a Democrat keeps this seat.
This is what SEIU, the union that put Mr. Allen up to run as a spoiler, really wants, so should Mr. Allen actually pull out a win, the union will abandon him like yesterday’s news to support Democrat Gary McDowell. SEIU is out to service its own wants and that has always been having a Democrat in office. Besides, after Bart Stupak’s self-serving betrayal on ObamaCare, the voters of Michigan’s 1st Congressional District deserve someone who will put their needs ahead of his own and his union backers’.
In an effort to convince Mr. Allen to do the right thing and walk away from this recount, eburke at Red State wrote an open letter to Mr. Allen that makes a lot of sense. Here’s a portion:
I’m asking you to step back and look at the big picture. See, there’s no guarantee that a recount will find you those 15 votes. And, in the meantime, while you and Dr. Dan are slugging it out and sucking through time and resources, Democrat nominee Gary McDowell will be focused laser-like on the November election. That’s time and money we simply don’t have.
But let’s say that your Hail Mary and the $100,000 you’ll need to spend to pull out a recount victory actually pays off. Where’s that leave you in November?
Well, the harsh truth is that, to the best of my knowledge, no Troll (person living below, or south of, the Mackinac Bridge) has ever represented this District. Why? Well, it seems that Yoopers (those living in the Upper Peninsula) aren’t overly fond of Trolls and don’t/won’t vote for them. On the other hand, Trolls don’t seem to have a big problem with voting for Yoopers.
Now, I don’t know why this is, and I’m not sure that it’s necessarily “fair” or right; but it is what it is and with Yoopers making up 45% of the electorate of this District, and with you being a Troll and Dr. Benishek being a Yooper and all that…well, that’s a pretty sizable voting block that Dr. Dan will be able to make a play for that will not be as available to you.
Strike One.
The whole letter is worth reading. If Mr. Allen has not read it, he should. The author clearly knows the district and is offering sound advice that is not only good for the district’s voters and the party, but for Mr. Allen as well. He would be wise to take it.
Still, Dr. Benishek isn’t counting on Mr. Allen putting his constituents before his own political career, so he’s preparing for a drawn out and expensive recount effort. He will need a lot of help, as he explained in a post at Right Michigan:
If we must endure an expensive and time-consuming recount, a dedicated few could easily be the deciding factor once again. That’s why today, I need you.
If we want to uphold this conservative victory and retake the seat that Bart Stupak dishonored, we will have two critical needs: the resources to fight the legal challenge, and volunteers standing vigil in all 31 counties of the District.
Right now, we should be uniting around a single conservative banner, making the case for the reforms Washington needs, reforms that Gary McDowell and his allies will resist just as they have for the last four trying years under Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But should we need one last push to affirm our victory, I hope you will help me see it through to the end.
As the recount proceeds, we want to keep our supporters updated with the most current information, so please sign up for breaking campaign news at danbenishekforcongress.com.
This year’s midterm elections are some of the most important in recent memory and not just in Michigan. Dr. Benishek is best the candidate for the people of northern Michigan and the UP, and the American people need his common sense conservative principles in the US House of Representatives, too.
*****
You can see the results by county here:
Michigan First Congressional District August 2010 Official Numbers
Cross-posted at KimPriestap
