43 “Champions for Kids” endorsed by bi-partisan education advocacy group are successful in 53 campaigns for State Senate and House of Representatives
Lansing, MI – An overwhelming majority of candidates endorsed by the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) were successful in yesterday’s primary elections for the State Senate and House of Representatives.
“We’re very pleased that in 43 of the 53 districts in which GLEP was engaged, our endorsed candidates were victorious yesterday,” said Gary Naeyaert, GLEP Executive Director. “The voters have chosen these strong advocates for kids to run in November’s general election, and we urge voters to take a close look at their records and positions on key issues and we’re confident they will come to the same conclusion and support them,” Naeyaert continued.
GLEP-endorsed candidates who won in yesterday’s primary election include the following (contested primaries are in bold):
- Senate District #14: Senator Dave Robertson (R-Grand Blanc)
- Senate District #16: Rep. Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake)
- Senate District #17: Rep. Dale Zorn (R-Ida)
- Senate District #21: Senator John Proos (R-St. Joseph)
- Senate District #22: Senator Joe Hune (R-Hamburg)
- Senate District #25: Senator Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair Township)
- Senate District #26: Senator Tonya Schuitmaker (R-Lawton)
- Senate District #28: Rep. Peter MacGregor (R-Cannon Township)
- Senate District #29: Senator Dave Hildenbrand (R-Lowell)
- Senate District #30: Senator Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive)
- Senate District #32: former Rep. Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth)
- Senate District #36: Rep. Jim Stamas (R-Midland)
- Senate District #37: Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City)
- House District #09: Rep. Harvey Santana (D-Detroit)
- House District #17: Charles Londo (R-Carleton)
- House District #19: Laura Cox (R-Livonia)
- House District #21: Carol Ann Fausone (R-Canton)
- House District #24: Rep. Anthony Forlini (R-Harrison Twp)
- House District #25: Nick Hawatmeh (R-Warren)
- House District #26: Greg Dildilian (R-Royal Oak)
- House District #38: Kathy Crawford (R-Novi)
- House District #39: Rep. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Township)
- House District #42: Lana Theis (R-Brighton)
- House District #44: Jim Runestad (R-White Lake)
- House District #45: Michael Webber (R-Rochester Hills)
- House District #46: Rep. Brad Jacobsen (R-Oxford)
- House District #47: Hank Vaupel (R-Fowlerville)
- House District #56: Jason Sheppard (R-Temperance)
- House District #61: Brandt Iden (R-Kalamazoo)
- House District #64: Rep. Earl Poleski (R-Jackson)
- House District #66: Rep. Aric Nesbitt (R-Lawton)
- House District #71: Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte)
- House District #72: Rep. Ken Yonker (R-Caledonia)
- House District #73: Chris Afendoulis (R-Grand Rapids)
- House District #74: Rep. Rob VerHeulen (R-Walker)
- House District #76: Donijo DeJonge (R-Grand Rapids)
- House District #79: Rep. Al Pscholka (R-Stevensville)
- House District #86: Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons (R-Alto)
- House District #89: Rep. Amanda Price (R-Holland)
- House District #90: Daniela Garcia (R-Holland)
- House District #94: Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw Twp)
- House District #99: Rep. Kevin Cotter (R-Mt. Pleasant)
- House District #101: Rep. Ray Franz (R-Onekama)
“We’re confident these candidates will continue to be forceful advocates for children, and we expect them to be successful in November’s general election,” said Beth DeShone, GLEP Advocacy Director.
GLEP’s endorsement process includes an examination of past voting records, personal interviews and results from the organization’s extensive candidate questionnaire. It should be noted that priority issues for GLEP include school choice and early literacy, while there are a number of education policy issues for which endorsed candidates may hold a variety of positions, including K-12 funding, Common Core State Standards, student assessments, etc.
Additional endorsements will be made in the 2014 General Election.
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