Now that the dust has settled after the state primary election, there are two big questions circling around GOP cliques, with the primary one being, where is GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon? The Norton Shores talk show host, who previously worked in her family’s manufacturing business, has seemingly gone on August vacation – not a good sign in a race where a segment of the Republican voters have not yet come around to supporting her, noted one Republican political con

The next big “who dunnit” in election circles is who will be the Tudor Dixon running mate as lieutenant governor? On Friday, August 19, per party rules, Dixon named former state Rep. Shane Hernandez of Port Huron for the post. But that may not be the last we hear on this issue because her choice has to be confirmed at the GOP state convention August 27. Prior to last Friday, names swirling included former member of Congress and state Senate Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester),

The “dys” in dysfunction in the GOP is particularly highlighted in Macomb and Hillsdale counties, where local conventions split in two, ending up with literally dueling meetings as fighting factions could not agree on who is in charge to represent themselves. In Macomb, combatting convention meetings were held in Warren and Shelby Township, where one was led by current county party Chairman Eric Castiglia and the other by former county party chairman Mark Forton. In Hillsdale

Hillsdale and Macomb are not alone when it comes to divisions in the Republican party. Take for instance the mid-August meeting of the 11th District Republicans to name delegates and alternates for the upcoming state convention at the end of August. When they gathered, observers said, a new, far-right contingent basically took over the meeting, withholding delegate/alternate status to many of what some called the “establishment Republicans,” which included some current and pa

As Congressman Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Township) was in the final days of his unsuccessful campaign to rout fellow Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-Waterford) to become the Democratic standard bearer for Oakland County’s 11th congressional district, came an article by The New Yorker which focused on a few congressional staffers who “broke from a tradition of deference” and staged an unprecedented sit-in at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office, demanding action on clim

The battle lines are really heating up on the western side of the state as former Oakland County Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin shifts her sights and talents to Lansing and the new 7th district due to redistricting. Slotkin, a Democrat currently in her second term representing Rochester, Rochester Hills, Holly and other northern Oakland communities as well as Livingston and Ingham counties, is a former CIA operative who did three tours of duty in Iraq, followed by stints at the

Months ago Oakland Confidential previewed two GOP family dynasties which were being challenged in the August primary. One was the Long family from Commerce of which Oakland County Commissioner Christine Long (12th district) was being challenged by Monica Yatooma. The Long family has a decades-long history in the west Oakland Lakes area. Christines’s husband, Rob Long, had been a township trustee for a number of years and his father, Robert Long, was one of the formative towns