One by one, many big names in Michigan Republican politics have announced they won't take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2006.
Detroit developer Peter Cummings and U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Brighton were the most recent. They followed Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, Prosecutor David Gorcyca and U.S. Rep. Candice Miller of Harrison Township.
But after weeks of people saying they won't run, finally a Republican is to say today that he's in the race. The Rev. Keith Butler -- a former Detroit councilman and founder of the 21,000-member Word of Faith International Christian Center Church, headquartered in Southfield -- is to kick off a two-day tour of Michigan cities this morning in Southfield to announce his candidacy.
Others considering a run are Domino's Pizza Chief Executive Officer David Brandon; Jane Abraham, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Spencer Abraham, who lost to Stabenow in 2006; Dearborn Heights businessman Nasser Beydoun, and Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. Troy businessman Bart Baron, who has run as a Republican or a Democrat in recent campaigns, said he will run, but Republicans do not take his candidacy seriously.
"The Republicans keep saying that Debbie Stabenow is very vulnerable, and yet you wouldn't know it by the hemming and hawing by would-be candidates," said Bill Ballenger, editor of the political newsletter Inside Michigan Politics. "No Republican has been willing to do what Stabenow has done: give up a safe seat for a risky battle to unseat an incumbent."
Butler, 49, of Troy, a member of the Republican Party since 1982, served one term as a member of the Detroit City Council. He has been talking about a Senate run for months.
He served on GOP committees under former President George Bush.
Butler offered a prayer during the Republican National Convention in New York last summer.
He also has considerable personal wealth to bring to a statewide race, which will be necessary to counter Stabenow's substantial war chest, which stands at more than $2 million 19 months before the election, according to the Federal Election Commission.
http://www.freep.com/news/politics/stabenow12e_20050412.htm
