IN THE CARDS

For fortune tellers and others who like to read tea leaves, it looks solid that state Senator Mike Kowall (R-White Lake) will announce that he is running for the open 11th district congressional seat in January. He’s spent the fall putting all of his ducks in a row in order to announce for the seat he’s wanted since 2012, when he fell on his sword for the Republican Party, which asked him not to challenge then-Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Livonia) in the primary. Lo and behold, a week after Kowall withdrew, McCotter was forced to resign when petition signatures were discovered to be fraudulent, leaving only part-time Santa Clause impersonator and reindeer farmer Kerry Bentivolio (R-Milford) in place, and he was elected, only to be plowed under two years later by current Congressman David Trott (R-Birmingham). Other Republicans who have announced for the congressional seat are Klint Kesto of Commerce Township, Lena Epstein of Bloomfield Hills, Kurt Heise of Plymouth, and Rocky Raczkowski (Troy).