LET THE GAMES BEGIN
Politics has often been compared to chess, as the movement of players to reach the end game for political parties. Take, for example, the new 10th District for Congress, which includes southern Macomb and eastern Oakland County, including the Rochester Hills area. On the GOP side, John James has finally thrown his hat in the ring – no surprise there – and declared candidate Eric Esshaki, who took 47.8 percent of the 2020 general election vote against Congresswoman Haley Steve


GONE, NOT FORGOTTEN
Don’t shed any tears for Eric Esshaki. The state party is not just knocking a pawn from the playing board. We are told that Esshaki will likely turn his attention to the newly drawn state Senate 9th District, where former Republican state Representative Michael Webber (R-Rochester, Rochester Hills) has already announced his intention to run, having served the Greater Rochester area in the state House until he was term limited as of December 2020. The new Senate district inclu


WHAT’S UP, DOC?
Polls taken by different firms for the upcoming Michigan 11th District – the one where Democratic Reps. Haley Stevens and Andy Levin have declared themselves adversaries – show it’s all up to who is asking the questions and interpreting the results. Impact Research conducted a poll for Stevens’ campaign where Stevens currently leads Levin, 42 percent to 35 percent – with a whopping 23 percent still undecided. A poll done by Target Insyght, first reported by Deadline Detroit,
LONG MEMORY
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, western Oakland and Wayne counties) said the endorsement she received from retiring Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence (D-Southfield, Detroit, West Bloomfield, Farmington Hills) in her primary battle for the newly redistricted 11th District against fellow Rep. Andy Levin (Bloomfield Township, Royal Oak, Huntington Woods, parts of Macomb County) “was a highlight of my career type moment. She is an icon and means so much to legions


MCDANIEL 2023 CHALLENGE
Republican National Committee Chair and Northville resident Ronna (don’t call me Romney) McDaniel could be challenged for her post if she decides to seek another run at the top of the national party when voting takes place at the start of 2023. Vanity Fair magazine in early February suggested that long-time Donald Trump supporter and twice-around campaign aide David Bossie is running a stealth campaign to build support for him taking over the national party, although the Mary


YOB’S NEW HOME
Back last November when John Yob bolted from the quagmire of a gubernatorial campaign of former Detroit police chief James Craig, insiders told us that he would eventually be connecting with the expected campaign of Perry L. Johnson, Bloomfield Hills Republican and founder of the Perry Johnson Companies in Troy. Now both gossip items have come to pass. Johnson, billing himself as the “quality guru” – a direct reference to one of his companies that is considered the largest IS
LOCKED & LOADED
In the “Don’t do as they say” column are Republican candidates Mike Detmer and Ryan Kelley, who seem to be taking the phrase “armed and ready” a little too far. Detmer, a candidate for state Senate (Howell) recently told a crowd that people should “show up armed” at polling places to protect Republican observers’ access to monitor counting ballots. Kelley, of Allendale, is a gubernatorial candidate who had posted a (now deleted) Facebook message to followers telling them “If


STEP TOO FAR
You know state GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock has gone too far when The Detroit News columnist Nolan Finley, a staunch conservative if there ever was one, is calling for her head. Maddock, wife of state Rep. Matt “Mad Dog” Maddock (R-Milford) is an avowed Trumpster, one of 16 Michigan Republican officials, along with MIGOP Grassroots Vice-Chair Marian Sheridan of West Bloomfield, who signed a fraudulent document in late 2020 submitted to the Electoral College saying Michigan’s


RISING PHOENIX
It’s been 18 months since former Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner lost in the Democratic primary battle with County Executive Dave Coulter for the top county spot, which Coulter ultimately won in November 2020, after serving as interim executive following the death of former long-time exec L. Brooks Patterson. Inquiring minds have been wondering where Meisner would turn up. Now we have the answer – Crain’s Detroit Business revealed he will be the new head honcho of the p