LANSING – Michigan’s next governor will be a man that as recently as two weeks ago few people – except possibly the two candidates – thought would be the final contenders in the November election. On November 2, Michigan voters will decide between Republican Rick Snyder and Democrat Virg Bernero on who will serve as the state’s 48th governor.

As surprising as their victories are, just as surprising were the margins of their victories. Bernero, the Lansing mayor, won the Democratic nomination in a landslide over House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.)

And Snyder won by some 10 percentage points over his closest rival, U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Holland). While Snyder still got an overall minority of all the GOP votes cast, the early anticipation that the GOP gubernatorial primary election would be a nailbiter never materialized.

To their cheering supporters at victory rallies, in Detroit for Bernero, and in Ypsilanti for Snyder, the two men struck the same theme of renewing Michigan though they approached if from different tacks.

Snyder said, “It is time for Michigan to work together and win together and we will bring back that attitude and spirit of innovation that will make Michigan great again.”

At his victory rally, Bernero said focusing on the working families of Michigan will lead to victory. “The main street values will see us through the storm and make Michigan great again,” he said.

And both candidates wasted no time in their victory speeches to attack the other.

“This is all about one question: whose side are you on,” Bernero said, saying that Snyder will be the candidate of high finance and Wall Street while he will back the working families of the state. “I will never stand for working people being thrown under the bus while Wall Street makes out like bandits,” he said.

But Snyder said his candidacy will be a chance for the state to completely change itself. “If you think government works well, if you think the political system works well, vote for the other candidate,” he said.

Quickly, both men began to garner congratulations and promises of support, though there was still an element of shock from some Republicans that their candidate would be Snyder.

State Republican Chair Ron Weiser said of Snyder, “We look forward to working with you in our continued fight to Fix Michigan. Nearly eight years of failed Democrat leadership is more than enough. Working together as a unified party in support of our nominee, we will not only win in November, we will Fix Michigan.”

And Gov. Jennifer Granholm praised Bernero, saying, “Virg Bernero is tough and determined to fight for the things that matter most to Michigan families – diversifying Michigan’s economy, educating our citizens and protecting people as we move through these tough times. I look forward to working with him to continue moving Michigan forward.”

On social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter Republicans who had supported Hoekstra or Attorney General Mike Cox (and who a week ago when polls showed Snyder with a lead railed against him) offered their somewhat reluctant support for Snyder. Still others were outright stunned.

Going into Tuesday’s election, late polls showed the possibility that Bernero could defeat Dillon in a landslide, and almost immediately as results were being counted Bernero began polling at close to 60 percent and stayed at that margin for the entire night.

Some media outlets called the race for Bernero with as little as 3 percent or 4 percent of the vote counted, though neither the Bernero nor Dillon campaigns were willing to declare victory or concede defeat.

After Dillon did concede at about 10 p.m., when Bernero took the stage for his victory speech, his spokesperson T.J. Bucholz said Dillon ran a good fight. “There were a lot of obstacles in the way, he was not a conventional candidate” for Democrats, he said. But Dillon was able to keep the campaign focused on issues and in that way was successful, Bucholz said.

Going into the Republican side, most observers expected an extremely tight race through the night. And in the first results reported, Hoekstra held a lead over Snyder. But quickly, Snyder assumed control of the race and as votes were counted expanded his lead.

His support was strong throughout the state, winning in small rural counties as well as in many of the state’s larger counties.

Finally as 10 p.m. approached, his opponents began to concede defeat.

One particularly stunning aspect of Snyder’s victory was that he won despite not getting the powerhouse GOP endorsements, such as Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

Cox, who did get those endorsements, conceded the election, but not the experience. “I didn’t win what I was looking for, but I won an awful lot,” he said.

And he said he would support, but continue to pressure, Snyder. “If we keep pushing and keep prodding him and keep reminding him why he won tonight, we will have a great governor,” he said.

In Detroit, Bernero said he has been labeled the angriest mayor in America but his anger only reflects the anger that Michigan residents feel about the economy and how Michigan government has worked.

“They have had it with business as usual,” he said. “They want an end of complacency, and they want government on their side and with me that is exactly what they will get.”

He pledged to put a moratorium on home foreclosures and to create a Michigan bank to help get lending to small businesses.

Snyder, who styled himself as a nerd in his campaign drew cheers and laughter when he said the results, “We’ve got a new definition for a nerd now, don’t we?”

If elected, he pledged he would replace the Michigan Business Tax with a more friendly tax for business. He also said he would refocus state government so it was based on customer service and he would switch the budgeting process so it was based on value for money.

And he called for the state to restore its entrepreneurial history to help rebuild the state.

THE NUMBERS: More than 1 million voters cast ballots in the Republican gubernatorial primary. With 99 percent of the results unofficially counted, Snyder had 377,340 votes, 36 percent; Hoekstra had 277,508 votes, 27 percent; Cox had 237,928 votes, 23 percent; Bouchard had 125,994 votes, 12 percent; and George had 16,841 votes, 2 percent.

Better than 500,000 voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary with 99 percent unofficially counted with Bernero receiving 305,401 votes, 59 percent, and Dillon getting 216,584 votes, 41 percent.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

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