SECOND CHANCE JAMES

Republicans are circling the wagon train over the possibility of flipping the U.S. Senate seat held by Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) in 2020. Republicans may underestimate Peters, who will be completing his first six-year term, though, because he’s not a flashy politician, and they assert he doesn’t have wide name recognition. That’s all true – but he has a long pedigree in Michigan politics, and that includes winning when others have counted him out, like beating former Congressman Joe Knollenberg (R-Bloomfield Township) in 2008 for the then-9th District seat. First quarter reports on fundraising for 2019 show contributions of about $1.89 million, as of March 31, with $3.1 million on hand. That could buy a lot of recognition. That hasn’t stopped speculation that Republican John James of Farmington Hills, who ran against, and lost to, Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2016. Republicans are clamoring for the handsome African American former Marine, even though his greatest accomplishment is his parents’ handing him a job in their company. Speculation is also brewing that former Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is looking at the Republican race. One former Michigan legislator thinks Schuette is a no-go. “I think people are still pissed at him over that terrible campaign for governor. He and (Tom) Leonard were living in their own worlds. I would have thought Trump would have given Schuette a federal judgeship by now.” Rumblings are Schuette is also considering a run for state Supreme Court.