Oakland Confidential | Michigan | Political Gossip/News

HILLARY-LITE

Following the Democratic convention in April, Michigan Democrats have their endorsed slate of candidates, and it’s an all white woman slate, beginning with Gretchen Whitmer for governor, Jocelyn Benson for secretary of state and, after a bit of an inter-party skirmish, Dana Nessel for attorney general. Nessel, the attorney who helped win the battle for same sex marriage, is considered a progressive Democrat, and will be the first LGBT attorney general if she’s elected. She ba

ALL ICING, NO CAKE

Michigan Attorney General candidate and state Senator Tonya Schuitmaker’s (R-Mattawan) attack on House Speaker Tom Leonard (R-DeWitt) for apparently not doing enough to oppose Common Core in Michigan, appears to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black. In a campaign video paid for by Schuitmaker, she questions whether Leonard – who also is running for attorney general – is “all hat and no cattle” because he hasn’t sponsored a bill to repeal Common Core and allowed a voi

ALL ICING, NO CAKE

CHASING DOLLARS

The race for congressional seats is in part a question of money, not to mention field operations. So here’s the lowdown (Cliff’s Notes style) on who raised the most in the first quarter of 2018 (and total to date) based on reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission. 11th District Democrats: Suneel Gupta, $407,110 ($934,511); Tim Greimel, $225,856 ($554,879); Haley Stevens, $185,058 ($842,537); Fayrouz Saad, $138,400 ($515,262); Dan Haberman, $58,894 ($259,367, includ

STREET TALK

Some politicos have looked at state Sen. Mike Kowall’s financial report for his congressional run for MI-11, and are saying that he is having a tough time raising money. “To be competitive against (Lena) Epstein, he’ll need much more money. She’s the 800-pound gorilla in the race – she’s the person to beat in this and will have all the resources,” Lansing political consultant Joe DiSano said. The big unknown about Epstein is what kind of an organization she’ll have, and what

STREET TALK

SNAKE EYES

Once you see it, it’s hard to unsee it. We’re talking about an ad tea party Republican Kerry Bentivolio has created in an effort to retake the 11th Congressional District – the one he “accidentally” became congressman of from 2013 to 2015, after former Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Plymouth) somehow forgot to get enough qualified signatures to run, leaving Bentivolio the only one in the race in the then-firmly Republican district. David Trott quickly made mincemeat of him in 2014

SNAKE EYES

GOING 40

The race to fill the local 40th District state House seat, currently occupied by Rep. Mike McCready, who is term-limited, is currently a picture of two different parties. On the Republican side, there’s limited buzz, with four confirmed candidates before the filing deadline when Downtown went to press, Mike Banerian, Malissa Bossardet, Paul Taros and Joe Zane, and David Wolkinson is also a likely candidate. Word is that Bloomfield Township trustee Michael Schostak is not goi

GOING 40

SAY MY NAME

As state Rep. Mike McCready (R-Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, West Bloomfield) turns his sights to his next challenge, running for state Senate in the 12th District, he is facing a four-person primary for the district that runs from Bloomfield Township, Franklin and Beverly Hills to Clarkston, Oxford, Independence Township and Lake Orion. “We did a survey, and my name is well-known south of M-59,” McCready, a former Bloomfield Hills commissioner said. “Nor

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