State Senator Mike Shirkey joined WKHM for his usual update
and we asked him first about the departing Governor Rick Snyder. “We are gonna miss the leadership of Governor Snyder.” he said. Senator Shirkey said that there’s a lot to Snyder to appreciate, “I admire his determination and his demeanor.” Consistency was the name of the game for the outgoing leader, as Shirkey also noted, “He’s no different in person than when you see him in interviews.”
We also asked the Senator to handicap the Governor’s race. Shirkey knows both races should be close, but he has favorites. On the Republican side, “Schutte will win by about 6 points.” Senator Shirkey said. “It’ll be a close race at the end.” Shirkey, a Republican, understands that his side of the aisle has made strides post-recession and hopes the people do not wish to change horses mid-stride. “We’ve got too much at stake and made too much progress in the state in the last 8 years.”
On the Democratic side, he’s looking toward a former colleague at the Capitol to head to the November general election, but understands a big-spending businessman is hot on her heels, and with good reason. “I also think Gretchen (Whitmer) will prevail in the democratic primary although that one is a little less easy to predict because of the amount of spending that’s occurring by Mr. Shri (Thanedar).” Shirkey said, “He’s a very engaging guy, so if he continues on his current trajectory that could be the one we watch.”
The primaries take place on August 7th. Stay tuned to WKHM for all your election coverage.
