BET ON THIS

Here is the latest of who is NOT going to be running for that coveted 11th District seat, and you can take it to the bank. Despite likely being a lock in the Republican primary, and one of Oakland County’s most beloved Republicans, Sheriff Michael Bouchard is a definite “no.” He may eye L. Brooks Patterson’s seat as county executive in 2020, when Patterson is expected to step down, or he may stay put as sheriff, where he commands a bigger budget than the executive office, and chairs national sheriff organizations, and with that, a national stage... Republican state Rep. Mike McCready (Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, West Bloomfield) is also a definite no. Although term-limited in the House 40th District, he has spent the summer campaigning and raising money for the state Senate’s 12th District, which he will be announcing for in October. If Knollenberg leaves his 13th Senate seat to run for Congress, McCready may have a tough decision to make, because he has lived in Bloomfield Hills for years... On the Democratic side, Gongwer, a political news service, asked former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade if she would run for the seat, and she was a firm “no,” telling them she doesn’t even live in the district and wasn’t interested.... And in the U.S. Senate race, to take on three-term incumbent Debbie Stabenow, Bob Ritchie – aka Kid Rock – is definitely not running. While the purported “campaign” to run as a Republican for the Senate against Stabenow is good for business, an actual one would be terrible for biz, an in-the-know Republican noted, because Rock would have to divest a bunch of his businesses and holdings, which are considerable. Rock on.