Monday, November 25, 2013
Democratic U.S. Rep. Gary Peters received endorsements for his 2014 Senate campaign from police organizations across the state at a Monday press conference in Warren while critics of his Republican opponent, Terri Lynn Land, claimed that she has coasted through the first six months of her campaign.
At a Fraternal Order of Police hall, Peters was endorsed by the Michigan Association of Police Organizations, or MAPO, which represents an array of police labor groups that includes the Detroit Police Officers Association, the Police Officer Labor Council, Warren Police Officers Association, Michigan State Police Troopers Association, and the Michigan Association of Police.
At the same time, the Land camp was trying to beat back claims that her campaign has made a minimal impact since she declared her candidacy in early June, even as the potential GOP rivals of the former Michigan secretary of state all declined to run.
“She attended over 40 GOP events over the summer when it looked like there would be a primary and now that she is the presumptive nominee has made some adjustments to her schedule to gear it more towards a general election,” said John Yob, her team’s leader under the title of campaign consultant.
“She is attending several holiday events and then will have an aggressive schedule in the New Year to bring her message of fixing Washington’s broken government to working families across Michigan.”
In addition to maintaining a schedule of less than two appearances per week – none consisting of official Land for Senate events – she has been a no-show at times.
Land cancelled an Oct. 15 appearance scheduled before the Grosse Pointe Farms-based Eastside Republican Club.
On Oct. 21, she did not appear at a Birmingham/Bloomfield Hills GOP event where she was billed as the keynote speaker, saying that she had a scheduling conflict.
And on Nov. 14, the Senate candidate declined another keynote speaker appearance before the 9th Congressional District Republicans – the GOP opposition in Peters’ district – at a gathering in Warren.
“How can Terri Lynn Land be running for the U.S. Senate when she’s avoiding the very people she’s supposed to represent and refusing to answer serious questions?,” said Peters’ campaign manager Julie Petrick. “Since Terri Lynn Land has found the time to fundraise with the tea party in Washington, D.C., but not hold any events in Michigan, it’s clear who has Ms. Land’s ear, and it’s not folks in Michigan.”
Nonethless, Land, a Kent County Republican, can boast of a strong showing in early polls though her campaign is just getting started.
In two recent statewide surveys, Land is in a statistical tie with Peters and in a third the congressman holds a narrow 43-38 percent lead.
The former secretary of state has also held her own in fundraising, collecting $1 million in campaign cash, in addition to a $1 million infusion of her personal funds, matching Peter’s reported third quarter contributions in the most recent campaign financing reports filed in October.
But Land’s fundraising prowess could present a double-edged sword.
Last week, she was treated to a big-time fundraiser in Washington that was hosted by 18 Republican senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Rand Paul, also of Kentucky.
Tickets for the event, which Yob said as attended by about 100 people, ranged from $2,500 to $10,000 for individuals and political action committees, or PACs. That represents a significant one-day windfall of campaign cash and a sound affirmation that her race holds national significance.
But it could also turn off some Michigan tea party supporters who want a GOP nominee who is not tied to the Washington establishment.
Land has already struggled to win a warm embrace from all the key players within the Michigan Republican Party and the tea party faction.
Sen. Carl Levin has decided not to run for re-election after three decades in office, but the coveted Senate seat he is leaving open has produced no early drama whatsoever. Peters and Land emerged as their respective party’s presumptive nominees, respectively, nearly 18 months before the November 2014 general election.
Land made it clear in the early stages of her candidacy that she intends to focus on winning Macomb County, one of the key political landscapes in the state. But Peters months ago secured the Democratic endorsements of County Executive Mark Hackel and Macomb’s Big Five – Sheriff Anthony Wickersham, Prosecutor Eric Smith, Clerk Carmella Sabaugh, Treasurer Ted Wahby and Public Works Commissioner.
The Peters camp asserts that the candidate has appeared at “hundreds” of events since he announced his run in May. Land backers counter that the West Bloomfield Township Democrat has to work harder and make up ground because he has never run a statewide campaign.
In fact, Yob said he considers it laughable that 44 Land campaign appearances a year before the election is considered sluggish.
The former Kent County clerk, Land won statewide election by large margins in 2002 and 2006 for secretary of state.
Yet, a report published over the weekend by the Lansing-based Michigan Information Research Service, or MIRS, concluded that Land’s low-profile approach has perplexed some political strategists.
The candidate’s June 3 Senate campaign announcement was done on Facebook and was not followed by a traditional tour of the state where she would meet with media outlets. Her use of Twitter has been sporadic and her rudimentary website contains no contact information or a list of her campaign team, only a Land biography, a video of the candidate speaking, and a link to donate money via credit card to her election effort.
Yob said that in addition to his service as a campaign consultant, the campaign staff consists of Matt Golden as deputy campaign manager and Lauren Gervason as finance director.
The Democratic Party has repeatedly hammered Land for not speaking out on issues and identifying her stances. The GOP candidate publicly opposed a U.S. missile strike on Syria and has continually bashed the Obamacare program, which her Democratic opponent warmly supported.
It’s clear at this point that Peters will be criticizing the broader issues exposed by the October government shutdown, which was blamed on congressional Republicans.
Behind the scenes, MIRS and political pundits have pointed out that Land’s limited public speaking abilities may be a significant liability. The perception of weak performances on stage was labeled as the main reason for her abrupt withdrawal from the 2010 race for governor.
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