STAB AT SENATE

With Republican Lena Epstein out of the U.S. Senate race, that currently leaves only former Michigan Supreme Court justice Bob Young Jr. and businessman and Iraqi war vet John James to take on the mighty three-term Senator Debbie Stabenow. Word is that Grosse Pointe businessman and financier Sandy Pensler has dipped nine-out-of-10 toes in the water, and is getting ready to commit fully to the race. Pensler has formed an exploratory committee to look at the race, has criticized Stabenow’s “vision,” saying the country is at a “tipping point.” We don’t know which way the country is ready to “tip,” but Pensler, who has a Harvard law degree and masters from Yale, is clearly a smart guy. He grew up in Detroit, and through his private investment group Pensler Capital Corporation, of which he is general partner, provides capital, management experience and financial expertise to a wide range of corporations, including Chrysler, Sprint, GE and Navistar, as well as owning a buyout firm and Korex Companies, which makes lots of household products.