In an end-of-session nail-biter vote, the House passed a short-term increase of the debt limit Wednesday, setting the stage for a February showdown on deficit spending.It was not a popular measure with centrist and vulnerable lawmakers, who don’t want to be portrayed as allowing the nation to go deeper into debt. The $290 billion increase would set the debt ceiling at $12.394 trillion.
The vote was 218-214, but Democratic leaders had to sweat it out. As the voting clock ticked down to zero, the bill was losing, 203-208.Thirty-nine Democrats rejected the measure and not one Republican voted for it. Three members, Reps. George Radanovich (R-Calif.), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and Bill Young Most of the Democrats who voted against the debt increase are expected to face challenging reelection races.
Three of the four Democrats running for the Senate, Reps. Paul Hodes (N.H.), Kendrick Meek (Fla.) and Charlie Melancon (La.), voted no. Rep. Joe Sestak (Pa.), who is running against Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) in the Democratic primary, voted yes.
You can't have congress without the word "con," and this is a conjob of the highest order. 13 Trillion in debt. Sell this country out further to the Chinese government. Pay more money in interest - There's a waste of money.
I know the left is going to bring up Bush. Obama (who voted for much of Bush's spending as a senator) is making Bush look moderate on spending, and Bush was very liberal on government spending issues. He was wrong, as was Congress from 2002 to 2006 under Hastert and Frist. That was bad on fiscal issues. 2006 onward was even worse under Reid and Pelosi.
Bush spent too much. That was unacceptable. I said so then. Obama spends even more. That's even worse. The only good thing about this vote is that every single republican voted against it.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Congress votes to raise debt ceiling
In a big showing of fiscal mismanagement, Congress votes to raise the debt ceiling. From The Hill.
Labels:
Big government,
Spending
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Alpena County Updated
Alpena County is the anchor county for the sunrise side of Northern Michigan. While Northwestern Michigan is more affluent (although less so with the economy), Northeastern Michigan is more working class and populist in its leanings. There is a union influence more in this part of the state compared to other areas up north, both among the workers and a large number retirees from downstate who like the lower cost of living due to land and housing.
For the previous Alpena County profile, Click here
Alpena County:
Location - Northeast Michigan
Population - 29,679 (2005-07)
Demographics (2000) – 98.21% White, .25% Black, .39% American Indian, .33% Asian, .12% Some other Race, .7% Two or more races, .58% Hispanic or Latino(of any race)
County Seat - Alpena (Population 11,201, 2000 estimate)
Local Elected Officials
Prosecutor - Ed Black - Democrat (won 56%-43%)
Sheriff - Steve Kieliszewski - Republican (unopposed)
Clerk - Bonnie Friedrichs - Republican (unopposed)
Treasurer - Jocelyn McCallum - Republican (unopposed)
Register of Deeds - Kathy J Matash - Republican
Drain Commissioner - Donald Bartosh - Republican (won by 14 votes)
County Commissioner:
District 1 - Dale Bell - Democrat (city of Alpena)
District 2 - Kathy Thomas - Democrat (city of Alpena)
District 3 - Thomas Mullaney - Republican (won 52-47%) (City of Alpena)
District 4 - Lyle Van Wormer - Republican (Alpena Township)
District 5 - Gerald Fournier - Republican (won 51-48%) (Alpena Township)
District 6 - Mark Hall - Democrat (Alpena Twp, Long Rapids Twp, Maple Ridge Twp)
District 7 - Cameron Habermehl - Republican (Green, Long Rapids, Wellington, Wilson)
District 8 - Bill Estlak - Republican (Ossineke, Sanborn)
Alpena Township - 5 Democrats, 2 Republicans
Green Township - 5 Republicans
Long Rapids Township - 5 Republicans
Maple Ridge Township - 3 Democrats, 2 Republicans
Ossineke Township - 5 Republicans
Sanborn Township - 5 Democrats
Wellington Township - 3 Republicans, 1 Democrat
Wilson Township - 5 Republicans, 1 Democrat
I am surprised at the local republican strength in Alpena County, considering the top of the ticket results leaning democrat, as well as the congressional, state rep, and state senate results being almost a base county for the dems. The State Rep and State Senate districts are competitive here due to counties outside of Alpena, and so should the congressional seat if Stupak retires or runs for higher office.
1998:
This was the Engler v Fieger year, and the GOP did well.
The Secretary of State race was also a blowout.
The AG's race however went narrowly democrat, here and statewide. The dems went all in for Granholm that year.
Stupak showed his strength in 98 against arguably his toughest opponent in Michelle McManus. McManus landed on her feet after this race elected to state senate and now running for Secretary for State, but Stupak survived 94 (his weakest numbers as incumbent) and 98 (3rd weakest numbers - 2000 was weaker due to a gun vote) in a more republican 1st district than the current post 2002 boundaries.
The State Senate district was not as competitive as its geography suggested it could be. Walt North won easily. Redistricting changed this area heavily in 2002.
The state rep district I believe was an open seat in 98 and a big win for the dems. Andy Neumann won the seat and held it in 98 and 00, before running for State Senate in 02. He later recaptured the redistricted seat in 08. This one wasn't close in the county, although it was fairly close overall. Ludlow only lost by 1500 votes total. Alpena made the difference for Neumann. (District included Presque Isle, Cheboygan, and Charlevoix Counties as well)
2000 was close at the top of the ticket in Alpena. Al Gore won by about 300 votes countywide, despite losing most municipalities. The City of Alpena, Alpena Township, and Maple Ridge Township went for Gore, with the rest going for Bush, but those three were enough, and really only the City of Alpena was needed. The three areas are grouped together in the East/Northeast section of the county. Alpena City and Township have most of the votes. Bush won the "red" areas with 56%, but it was 3825 votes. Gore won the blue areas with 53%, but it was 10302 votes.
The senate race surprised me here.
Stupak won easily again as 2000, although Chuck Yob was the closest challenger since 1994 districtwide.
Neumann had an easy re-election in 2000.
2002 was good to Granholm in Alpena County. Many parts of Northern Michigan, especially on the sunrise side (Lake Huron) are state democrats and federal or local republicans. They are more social conservative, but often work for the state with the DNR or Corrections departments. For a good illustration of this, compare 2000, 2002 (Posthumus ran ahead of Bush statewide in 2002), and 2004.
The Secretary of State race was closer in the county than it was statewide.
The Attorney General Race was the closest in the state.Peters won Alpena County solidly, although not as much as Granholm did. Mike Cox won statewide by about 5000 votes.
The US Senate seat was a case of Rocky thrown to the wolves.
Redistricting was friendly to Stupak giving him less of the Lake Michigan side and more of the sunrise side which has more Reagan Democrat type of voters that support someone like Stupak. That made the district just that much stronger for Stupak who ran about 10% higher districtwide than he did in the 90's.
Redistricting significantly changed the state senate district. The old 37th District covered parts of Northern Lower Michigan and a couple of UP Counties. Alcona, Alger, Alpena, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Emmet, Iosco, Luce, Mackinac, Montmorency, Oscoda, Presque Isle, and Schoolcraft Counties.
The post 2002 36th District covered Alcona, Alpena, Crawford, Gladwin, Iosco, Midland, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, and Otsego Counties. It is mostly a different part of North Michigan, and Alpena over in the Saginaw Valley area. It's a tough district for either party due to local ties. Tony Stamas snuck out a victory over Andy Neumann in this open seat. Neumann did his job in Alpena however. Stamas did the same to Neumann in Midland however, and that made the difference in the district.
Stamas actually won that race. That left an opening for state rep.in the 106th District.
The old 106th District covered Alcona, Alpena, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Presque Isle counties. The post 2002 106th District covers Alcona, Alpena, Crawford, Montmorency, Oscoda, and Presque Isle. Matt Gillard won a close race districtwide by 500 votes, thanks to his strong showing in Alpena County, which he won by 2900 votes. Both districts are swing districts with a slight local democrat lean. The GOP I think last held the district in the 80's or maybe early 90's, and has been close but no cigar when they go all in for it.
In 2004, Bush somewhat suprisingly won Alpena County. Nothing flipped from 2000 in the municipalities that went red and blue, but Kerry won the same areas Gore won with 51% instead of 53%, and the Bush areas went with almost 58% instead of 56%.
There wasn't coattails however. Stupak won easily, as did Gillard.
2006 was a big dem year nationwide, and in Michigan, including Alpena. Granholm won easily.
However, there were two exceptions to the rule. Terri Land and Mike Cox.
Mike Cox flipped a county he lost in 02, and won every municipality.
Unfortunately, Stabenow won easily.
Stupak continued his winning ways in another rematch with Hooper.
Stamas had a much easier time in 2006 as one of the bright spots. He flipped this county after his 2002 race.
Gillard easily won his 3rd term.
2008 was when the other one dropped. Obama took Alpena County, although narrowly. It was an improvement over 2006, but there's still no points for 2nd place. In order to win the state, Republicans need to win big in the north, and win in places with a lot of conservative democrats and ticket splitters like Alpena County.
The senate race shows what happens when candidates are thrown to the wolves.
Stupak had his toughest opponent since 98 with fellow Yooper and State Rep Tom Casperson, but it did not make a difference. Casperson didn't get the help he needed, and it probably would not have mattered anyway. Stupak is probably the most popular politician up north who isn't the ghost of Dominic Jacobetti.
Andy Neumann had one term left as state rep, and ran for it. I think he's setting himself up for another shot at the state senate seat in 2010.Neumann had a tougher race in Alpena County than he did in even 98 for his first term, but still won.
2010 will be interesting in Alpena County. Neumann is termed out, as is Stamas. Two seats with an anchor in Alpena County are open. Both are competitive. Bush won both districts, and I think McCain won the state rep district, and possibly the state senate district, although I'm less sure about that one. They are both legitimate swing districts. If Stupak steps down from Congress, that seat is also a swing district.
What surprised me the most with Alpena County is the number of local republicans holding office, even in Maple Ridge and Alpena Townships. The ticket splitting there goes deeper than I thought. This county needs to be contested strongly to keep control of the state senate and to regain control of the state house and district boundaries for 2012.
For the previous Alpena County profile, Click here
Alpena County:
Location - Northeast Michigan
Population - 29,679 (2005-07)
Demographics (2000) – 98.21% White, .25% Black, .39% American Indian, .33% Asian, .12% Some other Race, .7% Two or more races, .58% Hispanic or Latino(of any race)
County Seat - Alpena (Population 11,201, 2000 estimate)
Local Elected Officials
Prosecutor - Ed Black - Democrat (won 56%-43%)
Sheriff - Steve Kieliszewski - Republican (unopposed)
Clerk - Bonnie Friedrichs - Republican (unopposed)
Treasurer - Jocelyn McCallum - Republican (unopposed)
Register of Deeds - Kathy J Matash - Republican
Drain Commissioner - Donald Bartosh - Republican (won by 14 votes)
County Commissioner:
District 1 - Dale Bell - Democrat (city of Alpena)
District 2 - Kathy Thomas - Democrat (city of Alpena)
District 3 - Thomas Mullaney - Republican (won 52-47%) (City of Alpena)
District 4 - Lyle Van Wormer - Republican (Alpena Township)
District 5 - Gerald Fournier - Republican (won 51-48%) (Alpena Township)
District 6 - Mark Hall - Democrat (Alpena Twp, Long Rapids Twp, Maple Ridge Twp)
District 7 - Cameron Habermehl - Republican (Green, Long Rapids, Wellington, Wilson)
District 8 - Bill Estlak - Republican (Ossineke, Sanborn)
Alpena Township - 5 Democrats, 2 Republicans
Green Township - 5 Republicans
Long Rapids Township - 5 Republicans
Maple Ridge Township - 3 Democrats, 2 Republicans
Ossineke Township - 5 Republicans
Sanborn Township - 5 Democrats
Wellington Township - 3 Republicans, 1 Democrat
Wilson Township - 5 Republicans, 1 Democrat
I am surprised at the local republican strength in Alpena County, considering the top of the ticket results leaning democrat, as well as the congressional, state rep, and state senate results being almost a base county for the dems. The State Rep and State Senate districts are competitive here due to counties outside of Alpena, and so should the congressional seat if Stupak retires or runs for higher office.
1998:
This was the Engler v Fieger year, and the GOP did well.
| Governor 98 | Engler | Fieger | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 2605 | 1427 | 0 | 4032 | 1178 | 64.61% | 35.39% | 29.22% |
| Alpena Twp | 2395 | 1256 | 0 | 3651 | 1139 | 65.60% | 34.40% | 31.20% |
| Green Twp | 252 | 143 | 0 | 395 | 109 | 63.80% | 36.20% | 27.59% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 227 | 135 | 0 | 362 | 92 | 62.71% | 37.29% | 25.41% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 361 | 215 | 0 | 576 | 146 | 62.67% | 37.33% | 25.35% |
| Ossineke Twp | 396 | 180 | 0 | 576 | 216 | 68.75% | 31.25% | 37.50% |
| Sanborn Twp | 507 | 244 | 0 | 751 | 263 | 67.51% | 32.49% | 35.02% |
| Wellington Twp | 56 | 23 | 0 | 79 | 33 | 70.89% | 29.11% | 41.77% |
| Wilson Twp | 468 | 166 | 1 | 635 | 302 | 73.70% | 26.14% | 47.56% |
| Total | 7267 | 3789 | 1 | 11057 | 3478 | 65.72% | 34.27% | 31.46% |
| Sec of State 98 | Miller | Parks | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 2554 | 1403 | 76 | 4033 | 1151 | 63.33% | 34.79% | 28.54% |
| Alpena Twp | 2266 | 1108 | 39 | 3413 | 1158 | 66.39% | 32.46% | 33.93% |
| Green Twp | 259 | 123 | 3 | 385 | 136 | 67.27% | 31.95% | 35.32% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 241 | 113 | 4 | 358 | 128 | 67.32% | 31.56% | 35.75% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 332 | 199 | 8 | 539 | 133 | 61.60% | 36.92% | 24.68% |
| Ossineke Twp | 388 | 155 | 5 | 548 | 233 | 70.80% | 28.28% | 42.52% |
| Sanborn Twp | 466 | 226 | 7 | 699 | 240 | 66.67% | 32.33% | 34.33% |
| Wellington Twp | 54 | 19 | 1 | 74 | 35 | 72.97% | 25.68% | 47.30% |
| Wilson Twp | 446 | 141 | 4 | 591 | 305 | 75.47% | 23.86% | 51.61% |
| Total | 7006 | 3487 | 147 | 10640 | 3519 | 65.85% | 32.77% | 33.07% |
The AG's race however went narrowly democrat, here and statewide. The dems went all in for Granholm that year.
| AG 98 | Smietanka | Granholm | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1894 | 2116 | 0 | 4010 | -222 | 47.23% | 52.77% | -5.54% |
| Alpena Twp | 1648 | 1711 | 0 | 3359 | -63 | 49.06% | 50.94% | -1.88% |
| Green Twp | 176 | 180 | 0 | 356 | -4 | 49.44% | 50.56% | -1.12% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 182 | 149 | 0 | 331 | 33 | 54.98% | 45.02% | 9.97% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 257 | 275 | 0 | 532 | -18 | 48.31% | 51.69% | -3.38% |
| Ossineke Twp | 302 | 220 | 0 | 522 | 82 | 57.85% | 42.15% | 15.71% |
| Sanborn Twp | 334 | 330 | 0 | 664 | 4 | 50.30% | 49.70% | 0.60% |
| Wellington Twp | 41 | 31 | 0 | 72 | 10 | 56.94% | 43.06% | 13.89% |
| Wilson Twp | 339 | 235 | 0 | 574 | 104 | 59.06% | 40.94% | 18.12% |
| Total | 5173 | 5247 | 0 | 10420 | -74 | 49.64% | 50.36% | -0.71% |
Stupak showed his strength in 98 against arguably his toughest opponent in Michelle McManus. McManus landed on her feet after this race elected to state senate and now running for Secretary for State, but Stupak survived 94 (his weakest numbers as incumbent) and 98 (3rd weakest numbers - 2000 was weaker due to a gun vote) in a more republican 1st district than the current post 2002 boundaries.
| Congress 1st 98 | McManus | Stupak | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1265 | 2785 | 59 | 4109 | -1520 | 30.79% | 67.78% | -36.99% |
| Alpena Twp | 1242 | 2341 | 30 | 3613 | -1099 | 34.38% | 64.79% | -30.42% |
| Green Twp | 153 | 232 | 4 | 389 | -79 | 39.33% | 59.64% | -20.31% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 135 | 223 | 5 | 363 | -88 | 37.19% | 61.43% | -24.24% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 177 | 388 | 5 | 570 | -211 | 31.05% | 68.07% | -37.02% |
| Ossineke Twp | 250 | 319 | 3 | 572 | -69 | 43.71% | 55.77% | -12.06% |
| Sanborn Twp | 247 | 479 | 8 | 734 | -232 | 33.65% | 65.26% | -31.61% |
| Wellington Twp | 28 | 50 | 0 | 78 | -22 | 35.90% | 64.10% | -28.21% |
| Wilson Twp | 272 | 359 | 3 | 634 | -87 | 42.90% | 56.62% | -13.72% |
| Total | 3769 | 7176 | 117 | 11062 | -3407 | 34.07% | 64.87% | -30.80% |
The State Senate district was not as competitive as its geography suggested it could be. Walt North won easily. Redistricting changed this area heavily in 2002.
| St. Senate 37th 98 | North | Chase | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 2311 | 1689 | 0 | 4000 | 622 | 57.78% | 42.23% | 15.55% |
| Alpena Twp | 2032 | 1317 | 0 | 3349 | 715 | 60.67% | 39.33% | 21.35% |
| Green Twp | 216 | 149 | 0 | 365 | 67 | 59.18% | 40.82% | 18.36% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 220 | 119 | 0 | 339 | 101 | 64.90% | 35.10% | 29.79% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 314 | 219 | 0 | 533 | 95 | 58.91% | 41.09% | 17.82% |
| Ossineke Twp | 364 | 169 | 0 | 533 | 195 | 68.29% | 31.71% | 36.59% |
| Sanborn Twp | 418 | 252 | 0 | 670 | 166 | 62.39% | 37.61% | 24.78% |
| Wellington Twp | 54 | 21 | 0 | 75 | 33 | 72.00% | 28.00% | 44.00% |
| Wilson Twp | 402 | 179 | 0 | 581 | 223 | 69.19% | 30.81% | 38.38% |
| Total | 6331 | 4114 | 0 | 10445 | 2217 | 60.61% | 39.39% | 21.23% |
The state rep district I believe was an open seat in 98 and a big win for the dems. Andy Neumann won the seat and held it in 98 and 00, before running for State Senate in 02. He later recaptured the redistricted seat in 08. This one wasn't close in the county, although it was fairly close overall. Ludlow only lost by 1500 votes total. Alpena made the difference for Neumann. (District included Presque Isle, Cheboygan, and Charlevoix Counties as well)
| St. Rep 106th 98 | Ludlow | Neumann | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1662 | 2450 | 0 | 4112 | -788 | 40.42% | 59.58% | -19.16% |
| Alpena Twp | 1580 | 2113 | 0 | 3693 | -533 | 42.78% | 57.22% | -14.43% |
| Green Twp | 170 | 227 | 0 | 397 | -57 | 42.82% | 57.18% | -14.36% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 145 | 215 | 0 | 360 | -70 | 40.28% | 59.72% | -19.44% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 243 | 334 | 0 | 577 | -91 | 42.11% | 57.89% | -15.77% |
| Ossineke Twp | 274 | 303 | 0 | 577 | -29 | 47.49% | 52.51% | -5.03% |
| Sanborn Twp | 305 | 444 | 0 | 749 | -139 | 40.72% | 59.28% | -18.56% |
| Wellington Twp | 34 | 41 | 0 | 75 | -7 | 45.33% | 54.67% | -9.33% |
| Wilson Twp | 314 | 323 | 0 | 637 | -9 | 49.29% | 50.71% | -1.41% |
| Total | 4727 | 6450 | 0 | 11177 | -1723 | 42.29% | 57.71% | -15.42% |
2000 was close at the top of the ticket in Alpena. Al Gore won by about 300 votes countywide, despite losing most municipalities. The City of Alpena, Alpena Township, and Maple Ridge Township went for Gore, with the rest going for Bush, but those three were enough, and really only the City of Alpena was needed. The three areas are grouped together in the East/Northeast section of the county. Alpena City and Township have most of the votes. Bush won the "red" areas with 56%, but it was 3825 votes. Gore won the blue areas with 53%, but it was 10302 votes.
| POTUS | Bush | Gore | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 2081 | 2720 | 113 | 4914 | -639 | 42.35% | 55.35% | -13.00% |
| Alpena Twp | 2179 | 2375 | 94 | 4648 | -196 | 46.88% | 51.10% | -4.22% |
| Green Twp | 289 | 246 | 8 | 543 | 43 | 53.22% | 45.30% | 7.92% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 256 | 216 | 13 | 485 | 40 | 52.78% | 44.54% | 8.25% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 349 | 370 | 21 | 740 | -21 | 47.16% | 50.00% | -2.84% |
| Ossineke Twp | 479 | 292 | 19 | 790 | 187 | 60.63% | 36.96% | 23.67% |
| Sanborn Twp | 534 | 424 | 22 | 980 | 110 | 54.49% | 43.27% | 11.22% |
| Wellington Twp | 70 | 43 | 1 | 114 | 27 | 61.40% | 37.72% | 23.68% |
| Wilson Twp | 532 | 367 | 14 | 913 | 165 | 58.27% | 40.20% | 18.07% |
| Total | 6769 | 7053 | 305 | 14127 | -284 | 47.92% | 49.93% | -2.01% |
The senate race surprised me here.
| Senate 00 | Abraham | Stabenow | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 2466 | 2269 | 121 | 4856 | 197 | 50.78% | 46.73% | 4.06% |
| Alpena Twp | 2294 | 1992 | 79 | 4365 | 302 | 52.55% | 45.64% | 6.92% |
| Green Twp | 298 | 219 | 15 | 532 | 79 | 56.02% | 41.17% | 14.85% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 259 | 179 | 10 | 448 | 80 | 57.81% | 39.96% | 17.86% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 356 | 322 | 16 | 694 | 34 | 51.30% | 46.40% | 4.90% |
| Ossineke Twp | 478 | 249 | 14 | 741 | 229 | 64.51% | 33.60% | 30.90% |
| Sanborn Twp | 529 | 322 | 23 | 874 | 207 | 60.53% | 36.84% | 23.68% |
| Wellington Twp | 69 | 38 | 3 | 110 | 31 | 62.73% | 34.55% | 28.18% |
| Wilson Twp | 567 | 312 | 21 | 900 | 255 | 63.00% | 34.67% | 28.33% |
| Total | 7316 | 5902 | 302 | 13520 | 1414 | 54.11% | 43.65% | 10.46% |
Stupak won easily again as 2000, although Chuck Yob was the closest challenger since 1994 districtwide.
| Congress 1st 00 | Yob | Stupak | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1361 | 3442 | 42 | 4845 | -2081 | 28.09% | 71.04% | -42.95% |
| Alpena Twp | 1341 | 3053 | 22 | 4416 | -1712 | 30.37% | 69.13% | -38.77% |
| Green Twp | 218 | 303 | 2 | 523 | -85 | 41.68% | 57.93% | -16.25% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 200 | 262 | 1 | 463 | -62 | 43.20% | 56.59% | -13.39% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 245 | 457 | 5 | 707 | -212 | 34.65% | 64.64% | -29.99% |
| Ossineke Twp | 331 | 412 | 3 | 746 | -81 | 44.37% | 55.23% | -10.86% |
| Sanborn Twp | 331 | 597 | 7 | 935 | -266 | 35.40% | 63.85% | -28.45% |
| Wellington Twp | 49 | 61 | 1 | 111 | -12 | 44.14% | 54.95% | -10.81% |
| Wilson Twp | 378 | 522 | 9 | 909 | -144 | 41.58% | 57.43% | -15.84% |
| Total | 4454 | 9109 | 92 | 13655 | -4655 | 32.62% | 66.71% | -34.09% |
Neumann had an easy re-election in 2000.
| St Rep 106 | Flanders | Neumann | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1002 | 3816 | 0 | 4818 | -2814 | 20.80% | 79.20% | -58.41% |
| Alpena Twp | 950 | 3486 | 0 | 4436 | -2536 | 21.42% | 78.58% | -57.17% |
| Green Twp | 153 | 363 | 0 | 516 | -210 | 29.65% | 70.35% | -40.70% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 123 | 326 | 0 | 449 | -203 | 27.39% | 72.61% | -45.21% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 146 | 554 | 0 | 700 | -408 | 20.86% | 79.14% | -58.29% |
| Ossineke Twp | 254 | 489 | 0 | 743 | -235 | 34.19% | 65.81% | -31.63% |
| Sanborn Twp | 230 | 702 | 0 | 932 | -472 | 24.68% | 75.32% | -50.64% |
| Wellington Twp | 32 | 77 | 0 | 109 | -45 | 29.36% | 70.64% | -41.28% |
| Wilson Twp | 276 | 631 | 0 | 907 | -355 | 30.43% | 69.57% | -39.14% |
| Total | 3166 | 10444 | 0 | 13610 | -7278 | 23.26% | 76.74% | -53.48% |
2002 was good to Granholm in Alpena County. Many parts of Northern Michigan, especially on the sunrise side (Lake Huron) are state democrats and federal or local republicans. They are more social conservative, but often work for the state with the DNR or Corrections departments. For a good illustration of this, compare 2000, 2002 (Posthumus ran ahead of Bush statewide in 2002), and 2004.
| Governor 02 | Posthumus | Granholm | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1459 | 2362 | 55 | 3876 | -903 | 37.64% | 60.94% | -23.30% |
| Alpena Twp | 1559 | 2221 | 28 | 3808 | -662 | 40.94% | 58.32% | -17.38% |
| Green Twp | 176 | 212 | 3 | 391 | -36 | 45.01% | 54.22% | -9.21% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 169 | 216 | 2 | 387 | -47 | 43.67% | 55.81% | -12.14% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 248 | 347 | 5 | 600 | -99 | 41.33% | 57.83% | -16.50% |
| Ossineke Twp | 314 | 262 | 5 | 581 | 52 | 54.04% | 45.09% | 8.95% |
| Sanborn Twp | 365 | 375 | 2 | 742 | -10 | 49.19% | 50.54% | -1.35% |
| Wellington Twp | 57 | 39 | 1 | 97 | 18 | 58.76% | 40.21% | 18.56% |
| Wilson Twp | 375 | 357 | 9 | 741 | 18 | 50.61% | 48.18% | 2.43% |
| Total | 4722 | 6391 | 110 | 11223 | -1669 | 42.07% | 56.95% | -14.87% |
The Secretary of State race was closer in the county than it was statewide.
| Sec of State 02 | Land | Hollowell | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1815 | 1829 | 121 | 3765 | -14 | 48.21% | 48.58% | -0.37% |
| Alpena Twp | 1752 | 1611 | 39 | 3402 | 141 | 51.50% | 47.35% | 4.14% |
| Green Twp | 194 | 171 | 4 | 369 | 23 | 52.57% | 46.34% | 6.23% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 131 | 60 | 5 | 196 | 71 | 66.84% | 30.61% | 36.22% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 266 | 277 | 5 | 548 | -11 | 48.54% | 50.55% | -2.01% |
| Ossineke Twp | 329 | 158 | 6 | 493 | 171 | 66.73% | 32.05% | 34.69% |
| Sanborn Twp | 383 | 277 | 9 | 669 | 106 | 57.25% | 41.41% | 15.84% |
| Wellington Twp | 65 | 27 | 1 | 93 | 38 | 69.89% | 29.03% | 40.86% |
| Wilson Twp | 456 | 233 | 22 | 711 | 223 | 64.14% | 32.77% | 31.36% |
| Total | 5391 | 4643 | 212 | 10246 | 748 | 52.62% | 45.32% | 7.30% |
The Attorney General Race was the closest in the state.Peters won Alpena County solidly, although not as much as Granholm did. Mike Cox won statewide by about 5000 votes.
| Att. General 02 | Cox | Peters | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1539 | 2128 | 95 | 3762 | -589 | 40.91% | 56.57% | -15.66% |
| Alpena Twp | 1472 | 1871 | 39 | 3382 | -399 | 43.52% | 55.32% | -11.80% |
| Green Twp | 172 | 190 | 8 | 370 | -18 | 46.49% | 51.35% | -4.86% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 157 | 179 | 6 | 342 | -22 | 45.91% | 52.34% | -6.43% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 218 | 317 | 9 | 544 | -99 | 40.07% | 58.27% | -18.20% |
| Ossineke Twp | 290 | 221 | 7 | 518 | 69 | 55.98% | 42.66% | 13.32% |
| Sanborn Twp | 319 | 335 | 6 | 660 | -16 | 48.33% | 50.76% | -2.42% |
| Wellington Twp | 64 | 25 | 2 | 91 | 39 | 70.33% | 27.47% | 42.86% |
| Wilson Twp | 390 | 304 | 22 | 716 | 86 | 54.47% | 42.46% | 12.01% |
| Total | 4621 | 5570 | 194 | 10385 | -949 | 44.50% | 53.64% | -9.14% |
The US Senate seat was a case of Rocky thrown to the wolves.
| US Senate 02 | Raczkowski | Lenin | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1025 | 2795 | 60 | 3880 | -1770 | 26.42% | 72.04% | -45.62% |
| Alpena Twp | 1070 | 2499 | 34 | 3603 | -1429 | 29.70% | 69.36% | -39.66% |
| Green Twp | 131 | 241 | 4 | 376 | -110 | 34.84% | 64.10% | -29.26% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 108 | 246 | 3 | 357 | -138 | 30.25% | 68.91% | -38.66% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 162 | 401 | 7 | 570 | -239 | 28.42% | 70.35% | -41.93% |
| Ossineke Twp | 254 | 303 | 2 | 559 | -49 | 45.44% | 54.20% | -8.77% |
| Sanborn Twp | 232 | 453 | 5 | 690 | -221 | 33.62% | 65.65% | -32.03% |
| Wellington Twp | 41 | 53 | 1 | 95 | -12 | 43.16% | 55.79% | -12.63% |
| Wilson Twp | 279 | 451 | 7 | 737 | -172 | 37.86% | 61.19% | -23.34% |
| Total | 3302 | 7442 | 123 | 10867 | -4140 | 30.39% | 68.48% | -38.10% |
Redistricting was friendly to Stupak giving him less of the Lake Michigan side and more of the sunrise side which has more Reagan Democrat type of voters that support someone like Stupak. That made the district just that much stronger for Stupak who ran about 10% higher districtwide than he did in the 90's.
| Congress 1st 02 | Hooper | Stupak | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 733 | 3122 | 38 | 3893 | -2389 | 18.83% | 80.20% | -61.37% |
| Alpena Twp | 779 | 2840 | 17 | 3636 | -2061 | 21.42% | 78.11% | -56.68% |
| Green Twp | 108 | 274 | 1 | 383 | -166 | 28.20% | 71.54% | -43.34% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 85 | 276 | 2 | 363 | -191 | 23.42% | 76.03% | -52.62% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 122 | 454 | 3 | 579 | -332 | 21.07% | 78.41% | -57.34% |
| Ossineke Twp | 200 | 356 | 1 | 557 | -156 | 35.91% | 63.91% | -28.01% |
| Sanborn Twp | 164 | 517 | 8 | 689 | -353 | 23.80% | 75.04% | -51.23% |
| Wellington Twp | 34 | 60 | 1 | 95 | -26 | 35.79% | 63.16% | -27.37% |
| Wilson Twp | 221 | 508 | 5 | 734 | -287 | 30.11% | 69.21% | -39.10% |
| Total | 2446 | 8407 | 76 | 10929 | -5961 | 22.38% | 76.92% | -54.54% |
Redistricting significantly changed the state senate district. The old 37th District covered parts of Northern Lower Michigan and a couple of UP Counties. Alcona, Alger, Alpena, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Emmet, Iosco, Luce, Mackinac, Montmorency, Oscoda, Presque Isle, and Schoolcraft Counties.
The post 2002 36th District covered Alcona, Alpena, Crawford, Gladwin, Iosco, Midland, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, and Otsego Counties. It is mostly a different part of North Michigan, and Alpena over in the Saginaw Valley area. It's a tough district for either party due to local ties. Tony Stamas snuck out a victory over Andy Neumann in this open seat. Neumann did his job in Alpena however. Stamas did the same to Neumann in Midland however, and that made the difference in the district.
| St Senate 36th 02 | Stamas | Neumann | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 852 | 3080 | 0 | 3932 | -2228 | 21.67% | 78.33% | -56.66% |
| Alpena Twp | 914 | 2876 | 0 | 3790 | -1962 | 24.12% | 75.88% | -51.77% |
| Green Twp | 111 | 285 | 0 | 396 | -174 | 28.03% | 71.97% | -43.94% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 97 | 290 | 0 | 387 | -193 | 25.06% | 74.94% | -49.87% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 125 | 458 | 0 | 583 | -333 | 21.44% | 78.56% | -57.12% |
| Ossineke Twp | 226 | 355 | 0 | 581 | -129 | 38.90% | 61.10% | -22.20% |
| Sanborn Twp | 196 | 538 | 0 | 734 | -342 | 26.70% | 73.30% | -46.59% |
| Wellington Twp | 37 | 58 | 0 | 95 | -21 | 38.95% | 61.05% | -22.11% |
| Wilson Twp | 291 | 451 | 0 | 742 | -160 | 39.22% | 60.78% | -21.56% |
| Total | 2849 | 8391 | 0 | 11240 | -5542 | 25.35% | 74.65% | -49.31% |
Stamas actually won that race. That left an opening for state rep.in the 106th District.
The old 106th District covered Alcona, Alpena, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Presque Isle counties. The post 2002 106th District covers Alcona, Alpena, Crawford, Montmorency, Oscoda, and Presque Isle. Matt Gillard won a close race districtwide by 500 votes, thanks to his strong showing in Alpena County, which he won by 2900 votes. Both districts are swing districts with a slight local democrat lean. The GOP I think last held the district in the 80's or maybe early 90's, and has been close but no cigar when they go all in for it.
| St Rep 106th 02 | Wyman | Gillard | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1239 | 2650 | 0 | 3889 | -1411 | 31.86% | 68.14% | -36.28% |
| Alpena Twp | 1311 | 2363 | 0 | 3674 | -1052 | 35.68% | 64.32% | -28.63% |
| Green Twp | 157 | 226 | 0 | 383 | -69 | 40.99% | 59.01% | -18.02% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 149 | 218 | 0 | 367 | -69 | 40.60% | 59.40% | -18.80% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 221 | 357 | 0 | 578 | -136 | 38.24% | 61.76% | -23.53% |
| Ossineke Twp | 288 | 274 | 0 | 562 | 14 | 51.25% | 48.75% | 2.49% |
| Sanborn Twp | 277 | 439 | 0 | 716 | -162 | 38.69% | 61.31% | -22.63% |
| Wellington Twp | 51 | 44 | 0 | 95 | 7 | 53.68% | 46.32% | 7.37% |
| Wilson Twp | 367 | 366 | 0 | 733 | 1 | 50.07% | 49.93% | 0.14% |
| Total | 4060 | 6937 | 0 | 10997 | -2877 | 36.92% | 63.08% | -26.16% |
In 2004, Bush somewhat suprisingly won Alpena County. Nothing flipped from 2000 in the municipalities that went red and blue, but Kerry won the same areas Gore won with 51% instead of 53%, and the Bush areas went with almost 58% instead of 56%.
| POTUS | Bush | Kerry | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 2355 | 2746 | 54 | 5155 | -391 | 45.68% | 53.27% | -7.58% |
| Alpena Twp | 2453 | 2494 | 40 | 4987 | -41 | 49.19% | 50.01% | -0.82% |
| Green Twp | 345 | 278 | 7 | 630 | 67 | 54.76% | 44.13% | 10.63% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 273 | 246 | 2 | 521 | 27 | 52.40% | 47.22% | 5.18% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 405 | 410 | 6 | 821 | -5 | 49.33% | 49.94% | -0.61% |
| Ossineke Twp | 525 | 318 | 6 | 849 | 207 | 61.84% | 37.46% | 24.38% |
| Sanborn Twp | 598 | 467 | 9 | 1074 | 131 | 55.68% | 43.48% | 12.20% |
| Wellington Twp | 89 | 43 | 2 | 134 | 46 | 66.42% | 32.09% | 34.33% |
| Wilson Twp | 622 | 405 | 13 | 1040 | 217 | 59.81% | 38.94% | 20.87% |
| Total | 7665 | 7407 | 139 | 15211 | 258 | 50.39% | 48.70% | 1.70% |
There wasn't coattails however. Stupak won easily, as did Gillard.
| Congress 1st 04 | Hooper | Stupak | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1037 | 3972 | 74 | 5083 | -2935 | 20.40% | 78.14% | -57.74% |
| Alpena Twp | 1073 | 3768 | 55 | 4896 | -2695 | 21.92% | 76.96% | -55.04% |
| Green Twp | 168 | 434 | 6 | 608 | -266 | 27.63% | 71.38% | -43.75% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 138 | 370 | 2 | 510 | -232 | 27.06% | 72.55% | -45.49% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 193 | 603 | 9 | 805 | -410 | 23.98% | 74.91% | -50.93% |
| Ossineke Twp | 294 | 525 | 9 | 828 | -231 | 35.51% | 63.41% | -27.90% |
| Sanborn Twp | 250 | 792 | 9 | 1051 | -542 | 23.79% | 75.36% | -51.57% |
| Wellington Twp | 47 | 85 | 15 | 147 | -38 | 31.97% | 57.82% | -25.85% |
| Wilson Twp | 335 | 679 | 10 | 1024 | -344 | 32.71% | 66.31% | -33.59% |
| Total | 3535 | 11228 | 189 | 14952 | -7693 | 23.64% | 75.09% | -51.45% |
| St Rep 106th 04 | Fortier | Gillard | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1559 | 3530 | 0 | 5089 | -1971 | 30.63% | 69.37% | -38.73% |
| Alpena Twp | 1573 | 3365 | 0 | 4938 | -1792 | 31.86% | 68.14% | -36.29% |
| Green Twp | 249 | 361 | 0 | 610 | -112 | 40.82% | 59.18% | -18.36% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 191 | 324 | 0 | 515 | -133 | 37.09% | 62.91% | -25.83% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 285 | 524 | 0 | 809 | -239 | 35.23% | 64.77% | -29.54% |
| Ossineke Twp | 474 | 361 | 0 | 835 | 113 | 56.77% | 43.23% | 13.53% |
| Sanborn Twp | 437 | 621 | 0 | 1058 | -184 | 41.30% | 58.70% | -17.39% |
| Wellington Twp | 48 | 85 | 0 | 133 | -37 | 36.09% | 63.91% | -27.82% |
| Wilson Twp | 504 | 530 | 0 | 1034 | -26 | 48.74% | 51.26% | -2.51% |
| Total | 5320 | 9701 | 0 | 15021 | -4381 | 35.42% | 64.58% | -29.17% |
2006 was a big dem year nationwide, and in Michigan, including Alpena. Granholm won easily.
| Governor 06 | DeVos | Granholm | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1369 | 2511 | 48 | 3928 | -1142 | 34.85% | 63.93% | -29.07% |
| Alpena Twp | 1443 | 2559 | 46 | 4048 | -1116 | 35.65% | 63.22% | -27.57% |
| Green Twp | 209 | 270 | 8 | 487 | -61 | 42.92% | 55.44% | -12.53% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 191 | 243 | 2 | 436 | -52 | 43.81% | 55.73% | -11.93% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 250 | 378 | 11 | 639 | -128 | 39.12% | 59.15% | -20.03% |
| Ossineke Twp | 349 | 308 | 9 | 666 | 41 | 52.40% | 46.25% | 6.16% |
| Sanborn Twp | 368 | 462 | 14 | 844 | -94 | 43.60% | 54.74% | -11.14% |
| Wellington Twp | 64 | 41 | 0 | 105 | 23 | 60.95% | 39.05% | 21.90% |
| Wilson Twp | 446 | 415 | 16 | 877 | 31 | 50.86% | 47.32% | 3.53% |
| Total | 4689 | 7187 | 154 | 12030 | -2498 | 38.98% | 59.74% | -20.76% |
However, there were two exceptions to the rule. Terri Land and Mike Cox.
| Sec of State 06 | Land | Sabaugh | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 2115 | 1663 | 90 | 3868 | 452 | 54.68% | 42.99% | 11.69% |
| Alpena Twp | 2324 | 1539 | 52 | 3915 | 785 | 59.36% | 39.31% | 20.05% |
| Green Twp | 299 | 171 | 8 | 478 | 128 | 62.55% | 35.77% | 26.78% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 284 | 132 | 7 | 423 | 152 | 67.14% | 31.21% | 35.93% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 368 | 248 | 16 | 632 | 120 | 58.23% | 39.24% | 18.99% |
| Ossineke Twp | 441 | 206 | 11 | 658 | 235 | 67.02% | 31.31% | 35.71% |
| Sanborn Twp | 513 | 279 | 22 | 814 | 234 | 63.02% | 34.28% | 28.75% |
| Wellington Twp | 79 | 21 | 1 | 101 | 58 | 78.22% | 20.79% | 57.43% |
| Wilson Twp | 588 | 245 | 16 | 849 | 343 | 69.26% | 28.86% | 40.40% |
| Total | 7011 | 4504 | 223 | 11738 | 2507 | 59.73% | 38.37% | 21.36% |
Mike Cox flipped a county he lost in 02, and won every municipality.
| Att. General 06 | Cox | Williams | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1857 | 1810 | 132 | 3799 | 47 | 48.88% | 47.64% | 1.24% |
| Alpena Twp | 2015 | 1716 | 111 | 3842 | 299 | 52.45% | 44.66% | 7.78% |
| Green Twp | 256 | 205 | 5 | 466 | 51 | 54.94% | 43.99% | 10.94% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 253 | 154 | 13 | 420 | 99 | 60.24% | 36.67% | 23.57% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 319 | 266 | 23 | 608 | 53 | 52.47% | 43.75% | 8.72% |
| Ossineke Twp | 390 | 226 | 29 | 645 | 164 | 60.47% | 35.04% | 25.43% |
| Sanborn Twp | 449 | 329 | 27 | 805 | 120 | 55.78% | 40.87% | 14.91% |
| Wellington Twp | 66 | 31 | 4 | 101 | 35 | 65.35% | 30.69% | 34.65% |
| Wilson Twp | 513 | 292 | 28 | 833 | 221 | 61.58% | 35.05% | 26.53% |
| Total | 6118 | 5029 | 372 | 11519 | 1089 | 53.11% | 43.66% | 9.45% |
Unfortunately, Stabenow won easily.
| US Senate 06 | Bouchard | Stabenow | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1145 | 2705 | 70 | 3920 | -1560 | 29.21% | 69.01% | -39.80% |
| Alpena Twp | 1284 | 2700 | 41 | 4025 | -1416 | 31.90% | 67.08% | -35.18% |
| Green Twp | 179 | 302 | 5 | 486 | -123 | 36.83% | 62.14% | -25.31% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 159 | 275 | 2 | 436 | -116 | 36.47% | 63.07% | -26.61% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 202 | 423 | 10 | 635 | -221 | 31.81% | 66.61% | -34.80% |
| Ossineke Twp | 292 | 357 | 17 | 666 | -65 | 43.84% | 53.60% | -9.76% |
| Sanborn Twp | 296 | 529 | 14 | 839 | -233 | 35.28% | 63.05% | -27.77% |
| Wellington Twp | 43 | 62 | 4 | 109 | -19 | 39.45% | 56.88% | -17.43% |
| Wilson Twp | 371 | 479 | 16 | 866 | -108 | 42.84% | 55.31% | -12.47% |
| Total | 3971 | 7832 | 179 | 11982 | -3861 | 33.14% | 65.36% | -32.22% |
Stupak continued his winning ways in another rematch with Hooper.
| Congress 1st 06 | Hooper | Stupak | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 722 | 3127 | 59 | 3908 | -2405 | 18.47% | 80.02% | -61.54% |
| Alpena Twp | 798 | 3142 | 58 | 3998 | -2344 | 19.96% | 78.59% | -58.63% |
| Green Twp | 126 | 347 | 9 | 482 | -221 | 26.14% | 71.99% | -45.85% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 115 | 315 | 3 | 433 | -200 | 26.56% | 72.75% | -46.19% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 143 | 480 | 15 | 638 | -337 | 22.41% | 75.24% | -52.82% |
| Ossineke Twp | 201 | 454 | 12 | 667 | -253 | 30.13% | 68.07% | -37.93% |
| Sanborn Twp | 173 | 646 | 14 | 833 | -473 | 20.77% | 77.55% | -56.78% |
| Wellington Twp | 34 | 69 | 2 | 105 | -35 | 32.38% | 65.71% | -33.33% |
| Wilson Twp | 225 | 598 | 14 | 837 | -373 | 26.88% | 71.45% | -44.56% |
| Total | 2537 | 9178 | 186 | 11901 | -6641 | 21.32% | 77.12% | -55.80% |
Stamas had a much easier time in 2006 as one of the bright spots. He flipped this county after his 2002 race.
| St. Senate 36th | Stamas | Reid | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 2387 | 1484 | 0 | 3871 | 903 | 61.66% | 38.34% | 23.33% |
| Alpena Twp | 2532 | 1416 | 0 | 3948 | 1116 | 64.13% | 35.87% | 28.27% |
| Green Twp | 317 | 182 | 0 | 499 | 135 | 63.53% | 36.47% | 27.05% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 303 | 124 | 0 | 427 | 179 | 70.96% | 29.04% | 41.92% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 386 | 241 | 0 | 627 | 145 | 61.56% | 38.44% | 23.13% |
| Ossineke Twp | 459 | 200 | 0 | 659 | 259 | 69.65% | 30.35% | 39.30% |
| Sanborn Twp | 561 | 265 | 0 | 826 | 296 | 67.92% | 32.08% | 35.84% |
| Wellington Twp | 77 | 27 | 0 | 104 | 50 | 74.04% | 25.96% | 48.08% |
| Wilson Twp | 605 | 257 | 0 | 862 | 348 | 70.19% | 29.81% | 40.37% |
| Total | 7627 | 4196 | 0 | 11823 | 3431 | 64.51% | 35.49% | 29.02% |
Gillard easily won his 3rd term.
| St Rep 106th 06 | Viegelahn | Gillard | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 916 | 2974 | 0 | 3890 | -2058 | 23.55% | 76.45% | -52.90% |
| Alpena Twp | 991 | 2974 | 0 | 3965 | -1983 | 24.99% | 75.01% | -50.01% |
| Green Twp | 163 | 311 | 0 | 474 | -148 | 34.39% | 65.61% | -31.22% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 152 | 270 | 0 | 422 | -118 | 36.02% | 63.98% | -27.96% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 191 | 443 | 0 | 634 | -252 | 30.13% | 69.87% | -39.75% |
| Ossineke Twp | 251 | 406 | 0 | 657 | -155 | 38.20% | 61.80% | -23.59% |
| Sanborn Twp | 217 | 610 | 0 | 827 | -393 | 26.24% | 73.76% | -47.52% |
| Wellington Twp | 49 | 53 | 0 | 102 | -4 | 48.04% | 51.96% | -3.92% |
| Wilson Twp | 324 | 539 | 0 | 863 | -215 | 37.54% | 62.46% | -24.91% |
| Total | 3254 | 8580 | 0 | 11834 | -5326 | 27.50% | 72.50% | -45.01% |
2008 was when the other one dropped. Obama took Alpena County, although narrowly. It was an improvement over 2006, but there's still no points for 2nd place. In order to win the state, Republicans need to win big in the north, and win in places with a lot of conservative democrats and ticket splitters like Alpena County.
| POTUS | McCain | Obama | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 2143 | 2853 | 71 | 5067 | -710 | 42.29% | 56.31% | -14.01% |
| Alpena Twp | 2300 | 2619 | 87 | 5006 | -319 | 45.94% | 52.32% | -6.37% |
| Green Twp | 337 | 278 | 14 | 629 | 59 | 53.58% | 44.20% | 9.38% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 276 | 259 | 7 | 542 | 17 | 50.92% | 47.79% | 3.14% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 388 | 395 | 20 | 803 | -7 | 48.32% | 49.19% | -0.87% |
| Ossineke Twp | 487 | 335 | 11 | 833 | 152 | 58.46% | 40.22% | 18.25% |
| Sanborn Twp | 534 | 506 | 15 | 1055 | 28 | 50.62% | 47.96% | 2.65% |
| Wellington Twp | 70 | 57 | 2 | 129 | 13 | 54.26% | 44.19% | 10.08% |
| Wilson Twp | 590 | 403 | 28 | 1021 | 187 | 57.79% | 39.47% | 18.32% |
| Total | 7125 | 7705 | 255 | 15085 | -580 | 47.23% | 51.08% | -3.84% |
The senate race shows what happens when candidates are thrown to the wolves.
| US Senate 08 | Hoogendyk | Levin | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1256 | 3556 | 154 | 4966 | -2300 | 25.29% | 71.61% | -46.31% |
| Alpena Twp | 1321 | 3447 | 156 | 4924 | -2126 | 26.83% | 70.00% | -43.18% |
| Green Twp | 219 | 373 | 21 | 613 | -154 | 35.73% | 60.85% | -25.12% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 170 | 342 | 12 | 524 | -172 | 32.44% | 65.27% | -32.82% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 217 | 535 | 29 | 781 | -318 | 27.78% | 68.50% | -40.72% |
| Ossineke Twp | 345 | 455 | 22 | 822 | -110 | 41.97% | 55.35% | -13.38% |
| Sanborn Twp | 324 | 671 | 39 | 1034 | -347 | 31.33% | 64.89% | -33.56% |
| Wellington Twp | 54 | 69 | 4 | 127 | -15 | 42.52% | 54.33% | -11.81% |
| Wilson Twp | 372 | 589 | 39 | 1000 | -217 | 37.20% | 58.90% | -21.70% |
| Total | 4278 | 10037 | 476 | 14791 | -5759 | 28.92% | 67.86% | -38.94% |
Stupak had his toughest opponent since 98 with fellow Yooper and State Rep Tom Casperson, but it did not make a difference. Casperson didn't get the help he needed, and it probably would not have mattered anyway. Stupak is probably the most popular politician up north who isn't the ghost of Dominic Jacobetti.
| Congress 1st 08 | Casperson | Stupak | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 1214 | 3718 | 91 | 5023 | -2504 | 24.17% | 74.02% | -49.85% |
| Alpena Twp | 1301 | 3601 | 80 | 4982 | -2300 | 26.11% | 72.28% | -46.17% |
| Green Twp | 201 | 408 | 13 | 622 | -207 | 32.32% | 65.59% | -33.28% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 164 | 364 | 9 | 537 | -200 | 30.54% | 67.78% | -37.24% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 212 | 566 | 15 | 793 | -354 | 26.73% | 71.37% | -44.64% |
| Ossineke Twp | 327 | 491 | 12 | 830 | -164 | 39.40% | 59.16% | -19.76% |
| Sanborn Twp | 292 | 734 | 21 | 1047 | -442 | 27.89% | 70.11% | -42.22% |
| Wellington Twp | 45 | 78 | 3 | 126 | -33 | 35.71% | 61.90% | -26.19% |
| Wilson Twp | 339 | 653 | 24 | 1016 | -314 | 33.37% | 64.27% | -30.91% |
| Total | 4095 | 10613 | 268 | 14976 | -6518 | 27.34% | 70.87% | -43.52% |
Andy Neumann had one term left as state rep, and ran for it. I think he's setting himself up for another shot at the state senate seat in 2010.Neumann had a tougher race in Alpena County than he did in even 98 for his first term, but still won.
| St. Rep 106th 08 | Pettalia | Neumann | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Alpena City | 2188 | 2737 | 101 | 5026 | -549 | 43.53% | 54.46% | -10.92% |
| Alpena Twp | 2222 | 2639 | 113 | 4974 | -417 | 44.67% | 53.06% | -8.38% |
| Green Twp | 278 | 324 | 18 | 620 | -46 | 44.84% | 52.26% | -7.42% |
| Long Rapids Twp | 257 | 268 | 8 | 533 | -11 | 48.22% | 50.28% | -2.06% |
| Maple Ridge Twp | 334 | 441 | 14 | 789 | -107 | 42.33% | 55.89% | -13.56% |
| Ossineke Twp | 444 | 362 | 19 | 825 | 82 | 53.82% | 43.88% | 9.94% |
| Sanborn Twp | 501 | 526 | 25 | 1052 | -25 | 47.62% | 50.00% | -2.38% |
| Wellington Twp | 68 | 54 | 4 | 126 | 14 | 53.97% | 42.86% | 11.11% |
| Wilson Twp | 532 | 458 | 22 | 1012 | 74 | 52.57% | 45.26% | 7.31% |
| Total | 6824 | 7809 | 324 | 14957 | -985 | 45.62% | 52.21% | -6.59% |
2010 will be interesting in Alpena County. Neumann is termed out, as is Stamas. Two seats with an anchor in Alpena County are open. Both are competitive. Bush won both districts, and I think McCain won the state rep district, and possibly the state senate district, although I'm less sure about that one. They are both legitimate swing districts. If Stupak steps down from Congress, that seat is also a swing district.
What surprised me the most with Alpena County is the number of local republicans holding office, even in Maple Ridge and Alpena Townships. The ticket splitting there goes deeper than I thought. This county needs to be contested strongly to keep control of the state senate and to regain control of the state house and district boundaries for 2012.
Labels:
Alpena County,
election results
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
SCOTUS to hear McDonald 2nd and 14th Amendment case
This case, McDonald v Chicago, is one of the biggest cases in SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) history. It is the most important 2nd Amendment case in history, and one of the biggest in regards to the 14th Amendment. This is a rare direct shot against some bad precedence. In order to understand this case some background is needed.
Back in November of 07, I had a five part series over the history and interpretation, and of the 2nd Amendment by the courts. This was before the DC v Heller ruling.
Part 1 was an overview and a preview of DC v Heller (Then Parker v DC)
Part 2 was a focus on the original intent of the founding fathers.
Part 3 focused on the pre-Miller cases
Part 4 focused on the Miller case
Part 5 was a preview of DC v Heller
Those were written before the ruling on Heller. Other related posts I've had on Heller are these.
Amici
My comments on Heller
That leads to the current issue. Incorporation. The 2nd Circuit, led by now SCOTUS Justice Sonia Sotomayor ruled against it. The 9th circuit of all places, supports it under a due process claim. The 7th Circuit upheld the ban, setting up this case to be a SCOTUS showdown. The general history of incorporation is through "substantive due process" or "equal protection." The Privileges and Immunities clause is almost never used.
Soon, the Chicago Gun Case is being heard by SCOTUS. You can find all the background, the filings, and opinions at the Chicago Gun Case website run by the Second Amendment Foundation and Gura and Possessky law firm. Alan Gura was the attorney for Heller and he is back again for the McDonald case.
This case is similar to Heller in that it is a gun ban case regarding the 2nd Amendment. However, Heller was fighting federal law. McDonald is fighting a local ordinance which is a whole different matter. The precedent is long and bad going back to the post-reconstruction days following the Civil War.
After the Civil War, there were three constitutional amendments known as the Reconstruction Amendments. They were the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. The 13th eliminated slavery (the Emancipation Proclamation only eliminated it in Confederate States). The 15th addressed voting rights. The 14th Amendment is at issue in the McDonald case and reads as follows.
The two provisions are at the heart of this case. Due Process is the backup plan and the conventional argument. The home run argument is Privileges and Immunities. McDonald is going for the home run, as seen in his brief. This is a real ballsy brief to say the least. It is 91 pages and most of it is attacking 136 years of bad precedence going back to the infamous Slaughter-House cases. Much less of it addresses substantive due process, which is the more conventional argument these days.
One of the most universally condemned SCOTUS decisions was the Slaughter-House cases. Most conservative and liberal legal academics alike agree that it was a poor decision. Slaughter-House was an 1873 decision that gutted much of the 14th Amendment. Most of the case was not related to civil rights or even argued. However, the court went beyond what was expected of a case dealing with a New Orleans butcher industry. In the words of Justice Miller
In short, according to Slaughter-house, which has not been completely overturned, states can take away rights because a state citizen is different than a US citizen. The Slaughter-House line of cases lead to the Cruikshank and Presser cases which said that the Second Amendment applies only to the federal government.
From Cruikshank, Justice Waite writing the opinion:
And Cruikshank (1876) comes from Slaughter-House. It gets worse, much worse.
You read that right. The fist amendment protections are limited to the national government alone. "Bullshit," you say. Today, this is no longer the case, but that was the case in 1876. That is their view of the Bill of Rights. The same reasoning they used in the first amendment, applied to the second Amendment. That reasoning for the second amendment is still in affect today, and one of the favorite talking points among the left today. If you love Cruikshank, you better love all of it. I don't like any of it. Checks and balances in favor of freedom are good for our country.
More from Justice Waite and the Court:
And this.
Presser (1886) reaffirmed Cruikshank. Presser can be read here. The opinion was written by Justice Woods. It was still the Waite Court in that period. It repeats Cruikshank when it comes to the 2nd Amendment. The last case SCOTUS addressed regarding the 2nd Amendment and state laws is Miller v Texas, which did not raise a 14th Amendment objection. Bad move. They followed Cruikshank, and added this.
That is the binding precedence when it comes to the Second Amendment and state/local laws, at least until now. Presser, Cruikshank and Slaughter-House can be knocked out. McDonald is attempting to do just that, starting with Chicago.
The McDonald brief reads much like a history thesis, reintroducing John Bingham's thoughts who was the author of the first clause of the 14th Amendment. Much of the brief centers around the Northern originalist though in that period. John Bingham, Jacob Howard (Reconstruction Committee) and Thaddeus Stevens. It was understood and mentioned specifically by Stevens, that the Privileges and Immunities in the 14th Amendment referred to the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution. Obviously that includes the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The Connecticutt Governor in 1866 was complaining of guess what...gun grabbing. Page 57 of the PDF file. - http://www.chicagoguncase.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/08-1521ts.pdf
McDonald asks the court specifically to overturn Slaughter-House, Cruikshank, and Presser. Charles Black (involved in Brown v Board of Education), who wrote "A New Birth of Freedom" (One of my textbooks I had to read) was cited in this brief. He stated that Slaugher-House was "probably the worst holding, in its effect on human rights, ever uttered by the Supreme Court." I'd argue Dred Scott, but Slaughter-House is a close second. Most scholars would probably cite Plessy v Ferguson in 1896, but I doubt that would be around if it wasn't for Slaughter-House and its cousin, the "civil rights cases" of 1883.
This brief also argues for relief under substantive due process, but that's not the significant home run attempt here.
ChicagoGunCase.com has all of the filings on their site, including the Amici Curiae of interest groups and others.
The NRA brief argued more strongly for due process, but did mention Privileges and Immunities as an alternative.
The Cato Institute attacked Slaughter-House.
The liberal Constitutional Accountability Center supports McDonald as well in a quite strong brief.
The Conservative Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence (Ed Meese) also had a supportive brief for McDonald on Privileges and Immunity grounds.
The libertarian Institute for Justice agreed with both the liberals and the conservatives.
37 States including Michigan signed a brief supporting McDonald. Thank you Mike Cox. Members of Congress also signed a support brief. Levin and Stabenow did not sign this. What a shocker. However, Dave Camp, John Dingell, Pete Hoekstra, Thad McCotter, Candice Miller, Gary Peters (That shocks me with his State Senate record), Mike Rogers, Mark Schauer (another shocker), and Bart Stupak all signed it. Only Vern Ehlers, John Conyers, Sander Levin, and Carolyn Kilpatrick did not among out house reps. Those were mostly on due process arguments. A state legislature brief was filed. Some Michigan state reps signed on board that brief. Brian Calley, Kevin Elsenheimer, Rick Jones, Mike Lahti, Richard LeBlanc, Matt Lori, Andy Neumann, Paul Opsommer, Randy Richardville, and Joel Sheltrown all signed their names to supporting McDonald.
Others supporting McDonald are think tanks from all over the spectrum, law enforcement groups (public policy grounds), several professors, and some prosecutors.
The anti-gun Brady Campaign and anti-gun NAACP filed briefs in support of neither party. Brady is pushing for "rational basis" review instead of the proper strict scrutiny standard in protecting fundamental rights. The NAACP brief does not want Slaughter-House addressed in this case and focused on public policy reasons to implicitly support the ban.
There is some controversy with the attempt to take out Slaughter-House, even among libertarians. Some interesting commentary at Reason Magazine, as well as by Professors Olin Kerr and Randy Barnett at Professor Volokh's blog.
As someone who is not all that fond of substantive due process (neither Lochner nor the abortion cases) I happen to support Alan Gura and McDonald's gutsy move. The Privileges and Immunities clause has been neglected since the Slaughter-House line of cases. It needs to be overturned. Without Slaughter-House, there is no Cruikshank or Presser, which was worse. There might not even have been Plessy if it wasn't for Slaughter-House. I am mostly textualist in my interpretations, and originalist when there is any ambiguity. The 2nd Amendment is clear. The 14th Amendment is even clearer. The intent is clear and open for all to read. It's time that the Bill of Rights - ALL of them, are officially incorporated through the 14th Amendment's Privileges and Immunities clause. This is about the Bill of Rights, no more, no less.
Back in November of 07, I had a five part series over the history and interpretation, and of the 2nd Amendment by the courts. This was before the DC v Heller ruling.
Part 1 was an overview and a preview of DC v Heller (Then Parker v DC)
Part 2 was a focus on the original intent of the founding fathers.
Part 3 focused on the pre-Miller cases
Part 4 focused on the Miller case
Part 5 was a preview of DC v Heller
Those were written before the ruling on Heller. Other related posts I've had on Heller are these.
Amici
My comments on Heller
That leads to the current issue. Incorporation. The 2nd Circuit, led by now SCOTUS Justice Sonia Sotomayor ruled against it. The 9th circuit of all places, supports it under a due process claim. The 7th Circuit upheld the ban, setting up this case to be a SCOTUS showdown. The general history of incorporation is through "substantive due process" or "equal protection." The Privileges and Immunities clause is almost never used.
Soon, the Chicago Gun Case is being heard by SCOTUS. You can find all the background, the filings, and opinions at the Chicago Gun Case website run by the Second Amendment Foundation and Gura and Possessky law firm. Alan Gura was the attorney for Heller and he is back again for the McDonald case.
This case is similar to Heller in that it is a gun ban case regarding the 2nd Amendment. However, Heller was fighting federal law. McDonald is fighting a local ordinance which is a whole different matter. The precedent is long and bad going back to the post-reconstruction days following the Civil War.
After the Civil War, there were three constitutional amendments known as the Reconstruction Amendments. They were the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. The 13th eliminated slavery (the Emancipation Proclamation only eliminated it in Confederate States). The 15th addressed voting rights. The 14th Amendment is at issue in the McDonald case and reads as follows.
|'''Section 1.''' All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
'''Section 2.''' Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
'''Section 3.''' No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
'''Section 4.''' The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
The two provisions are at the heart of this case. Due Process is the backup plan and the conventional argument. The home run argument is Privileges and Immunities. McDonald is going for the home run, as seen in his brief. This is a real ballsy brief to say the least. It is 91 pages and most of it is attacking 136 years of bad precedence going back to the infamous Slaughter-House cases. Much less of it addresses substantive due process, which is the more conventional argument these days.
One of the most universally condemned SCOTUS decisions was the Slaughter-House cases. Most conservative and liberal legal academics alike agree that it was a poor decision. Slaughter-House was an 1873 decision that gutted much of the 14th Amendment. Most of the case was not related to civil rights or even argued. However, the court went beyond what was expected of a case dealing with a New Orleans butcher industry. In the words of Justice Miller
In the case of Paul v. Virginia,24 the court, in expounding this clause of the Constitution, says that 'the privileges and immunities secured to citizens of each State in the several States, by the provision in question, are those privileges and immunities which are common to the citizens in the latter [83 U.S. 36, 77] States under their constitution and laws by virtue of their being citizens.'
The constitutional provision there alluded to did not create those rights, which it called privileges and immunities of citizens of the States. It threw around them in that clause no security for the citizen of the State in which they were claimed or exercised. Nor did it profess to control the power of the State governments over the rights of its own citizens.
Its sole purpose was to declare to the several States, that whatever those rights, as you grant or establish them to your own citizens, or as you limit or qualify, or impose restrictions on their exercise, the same, neither more nor less, shall be the measure of the rights of citizens of other States within your jurisdiction.
In short, according to Slaughter-house, which has not been completely overturned, states can take away rights because a state citizen is different than a US citizen. The Slaughter-House line of cases lead to the Cruikshank and Presser cases which said that the Second Amendment applies only to the federal government.
From Cruikshank, Justice Waite writing the opinion:
We have in our political system a government of the United States and a government of each of the several States. Each one of these governments is distinct from the others, and each has citizens of its own who owe it allegiance and whose rights, within its jurisdiction, it must protect. The same person may be at the same time a citizen of the United States and a citizen of a State, but his rights of citizenship under one of these governments will be different from those he has under the other. Slaughter-House Cases, 16 Wall. 74.
And Cruikshank (1876) comes from Slaughter-House. It gets worse, much worse.
The first amendment to the Constitution prohibits Congress from abridging "the right of the people to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." This, like the other amendments proposed and adopted at the same time, was not intended to limit the powers of the State governments in respect to their own citizens, but to operate upon the National Government alone.
You read that right. The fist amendment protections are limited to the national government alone. "Bullshit," you say. Today, this is no longer the case, but that was the case in 1876. That is their view of the Bill of Rights. The same reasoning they used in the first amendment, applied to the second Amendment. That reasoning for the second amendment is still in affect today, and one of the favorite talking points among the left today. If you love Cruikshank, you better love all of it. I don't like any of it. Checks and balances in favor of freedom are good for our country.
More from Justice Waite and the Court:
The second and tenth counts are equally defective. The right there specified is that of "bearing arms for a lawful purpose." This is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The second amendment declares that it shall not be infringed, but this, as has been seen, means no more than that it shall not be infringed by Congress. This is one of the amendments that has no other effect than to restrict the powers of the national government, leaving the people to look for their protection against any violation by their fellow citizens of the rights it recognizes, to what is called, in The City of New York v. Miln, 11 Pet. 139, the "powers which relate to merely municipal legislation, or what was, perhaps, more properly called internal police," "not surrendered or restrained" by the Constitution of the United States.
And this.
The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a State from denying to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws; but this provision does not, any more than the one which precedes it, and which we have just considered, add anything to the rights which one citizen has under the Constitution against another. The equality of the rights of citizens is a principle of republicanism. Every republican government is in duty bound to protect all its citizens in the enjoyment of this principle, if within its power. That duty was originally assumed by the States, and it still remains there. The only obligation resting upon the United States is to see that the States do not deny the right. This the amendment guarantees, but no more. The power of the national government is limited to the enforcement of this guaranty.
Presser (1886) reaffirmed Cruikshank. Presser can be read here. The opinion was written by Justice Woods. It was still the Waite Court in that period. It repeats Cruikshank when it comes to the 2nd Amendment. The last case SCOTUS addressed regarding the 2nd Amendment and state laws is Miller v Texas, which did not raise a 14th Amendment objection. Bad move. They followed Cruikshank, and added this.
And if the Fourteenth Amendment limited the power of the states as to such rights, as pertaining to citizens of the United States, we think it was fatal to this claim that it was not set up in the trial court. In Spies v. Illinois, 123 U. S. 131, 123 U. S. 180, objection was made that a certain letter was obtained from the defendant by an unlawful seizure, and the constitutional immunity was set up in the Supreme Court of Illinois, as well as in this Court, but it was not made on the trial in the court of original jurisdiction. It was held, both by the Supreme Court of Illinois and by this Court, that the defense should have proven that the letter was unlawfully seized by the police, and should then have opposed its admission upon the ground that it was obtained by such unlawful seizure. Said the Chief Justice:
"As the supreme court of the state was reviewing the decision of the trial court, it must appear that the claim was made in that court, because the supreme court was only authorized to review the judgment for errors committed there, and we can do no more. . . . If the right was not set up or claimed in the proper court below, the judgment of the highest court of the state in the action is conclusive, so far as the right of reviews here is concerned."
That is the binding precedence when it comes to the Second Amendment and state/local laws, at least until now. Presser, Cruikshank and Slaughter-House can be knocked out. McDonald is attempting to do just that, starting with Chicago.
The McDonald brief reads much like a history thesis, reintroducing John Bingham's thoughts who was the author of the first clause of the 14th Amendment. Much of the brief centers around the Northern originalist though in that period. John Bingham, Jacob Howard (Reconstruction Committee) and Thaddeus Stevens. It was understood and mentioned specifically by Stevens, that the Privileges and Immunities in the 14th Amendment referred to the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution. Obviously that includes the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The Connecticutt Governor in 1866 was complaining of guess what...gun grabbing. Page 57 of the PDF file. - http://www.chicagoguncase.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/08-1521ts.pdf
McDonald asks the court specifically to overturn Slaughter-House, Cruikshank, and Presser. Charles Black (involved in Brown v Board of Education), who wrote "A New Birth of Freedom" (One of my textbooks I had to read) was cited in this brief. He stated that Slaugher-House was "probably the worst holding, in its effect on human rights, ever uttered by the Supreme Court." I'd argue Dred Scott, but Slaughter-House is a close second. Most scholars would probably cite Plessy v Ferguson in 1896, but I doubt that would be around if it wasn't for Slaughter-House and its cousin, the "civil rights cases" of 1883.
This brief also argues for relief under substantive due process, but that's not the significant home run attempt here.
ChicagoGunCase.com has all of the filings on their site, including the Amici Curiae of interest groups and others.
The NRA brief argued more strongly for due process, but did mention Privileges and Immunities as an alternative.
The Cato Institute attacked Slaughter-House.
The liberal Constitutional Accountability Center supports McDonald as well in a quite strong brief.
The Conservative Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence (Ed Meese) also had a supportive brief for McDonald on Privileges and Immunity grounds.
The libertarian Institute for Justice agreed with both the liberals and the conservatives.
37 States including Michigan signed a brief supporting McDonald. Thank you Mike Cox. Members of Congress also signed a support brief. Levin and Stabenow did not sign this. What a shocker. However, Dave Camp, John Dingell, Pete Hoekstra, Thad McCotter, Candice Miller, Gary Peters (That shocks me with his State Senate record), Mike Rogers, Mark Schauer (another shocker), and Bart Stupak all signed it. Only Vern Ehlers, John Conyers, Sander Levin, and Carolyn Kilpatrick did not among out house reps. Those were mostly on due process arguments. A state legislature brief was filed. Some Michigan state reps signed on board that brief. Brian Calley, Kevin Elsenheimer, Rick Jones, Mike Lahti, Richard LeBlanc, Matt Lori, Andy Neumann, Paul Opsommer, Randy Richardville, and Joel Sheltrown all signed their names to supporting McDonald.
Others supporting McDonald are think tanks from all over the spectrum, law enforcement groups (public policy grounds), several professors, and some prosecutors.
The anti-gun Brady Campaign and anti-gun NAACP filed briefs in support of neither party. Brady is pushing for "rational basis" review instead of the proper strict scrutiny standard in protecting fundamental rights. The NAACP brief does not want Slaughter-House addressed in this case and focused on public policy reasons to implicitly support the ban.
There is some controversy with the attempt to take out Slaughter-House, even among libertarians. Some interesting commentary at Reason Magazine, as well as by Professors Olin Kerr and Randy Barnett at Professor Volokh's blog.
As someone who is not all that fond of substantive due process (neither Lochner nor the abortion cases) I happen to support Alan Gura and McDonald's gutsy move. The Privileges and Immunities clause has been neglected since the Slaughter-House line of cases. It needs to be overturned. Without Slaughter-House, there is no Cruikshank or Presser, which was worse. There might not even have been Plessy if it wasn't for Slaughter-House. I am mostly textualist in my interpretations, and originalist when there is any ambiguity. The 2nd Amendment is clear. The 14th Amendment is even clearer. The intent is clear and open for all to read. It's time that the Bill of Rights - ALL of them, are officially incorporated through the 14th Amendment's Privileges and Immunities clause. This is about the Bill of Rights, no more, no less.
Labels:
14th Amendment,
2nd Amendment,
SCOTUS
Allegan County Updated (Part 2, 2006 to present)
Part two of Allegan County
In 06, the trouble started to roll. 06 and 08 were disasters statewide, but the GOP took a major beating in West Michigan, by our standards. Republicans need to win Allegan County big, not just win it. Take a map of the townships from the census, and then look at where the red to blue flips were. They were in the Southern portion of the County. North (Dutch) stayed red, South went blue. It's the Holland and GR Suburban influence verses the Kalamazoo and South Haven influence. Douglas became incorporated as well. The reason why its so blue is that it is right next to Saugatuck. Previously, it was part of Saugatuck Township for election purposes.
The Secretary of State and Attorney General races were the 06 bright spots. Land didn't have much of a dropoff from 2002.
Mike Cox actually improved over his 2002 numbers statewide.
Stabenow somehow won re-election by a big margin, similar to Granholm's numbers.
Not even Hoekstra was safe in some areas he normally won. Saugatuck and Douglas flipped to the dems at Congressional level. Hoekstra was still extremely strong there, but it wasn't the normal sweep. He ran 3% behind his 04 numbers, which is good considering the year.
Upton won easily, but ran 7% behind his 04 numbers. It was a sweep and over 60% in the county still.
The State Senate seat was not a contest in Allegan County. Birkholz won easily.
Schuitmaker won easily her part of Allegan County.
Sheen had no problem thanks to the northern part of the county. The dems took Allegan City, Douglas, Lee Twp, Saugatuck, and the small portion of South Haven however.
2008 was a bad year for the GOP in Michigan, and Allegan County was no exception. While McCain won the county, Obama took 18 municipalities to McCain's 15. Contrasting that to 2004, Kerry took three. He maybe took four depending which parts of then Saugatuck Township voted democrat. I suspect that Douglas went blue and the rest of the township did not in 04. The question is that is this an aberration or not. A charasmatic candidate with no substance against an old guy who quit the state, and announced it to the world. A 54% win here is not a true win statewide.
The Senate Seat was the result of Jack Hoogendyk being thrown to the wolves.
Congressional seats did not change much from 06. Hoekstra and Upton bled a little, but still ran far ahead of McCain, and even Bush's 04 numbers. Hoeksta kept above 70%.
In 06, the trouble started to roll. 06 and 08 were disasters statewide, but the GOP took a major beating in West Michigan, by our standards. Republicans need to win Allegan County big, not just win it. Take a map of the townships from the census, and then look at where the red to blue flips were. They were in the Southern portion of the County. North (Dutch) stayed red, South went blue. It's the Holland and GR Suburban influence verses the Kalamazoo and South Haven influence. Douglas became incorporated as well. The reason why its so blue is that it is right next to Saugatuck. Previously, it was part of Saugatuck Township for election purposes.
| Governor 06 | DeVos | Granholm | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| City of Allegan | 636 | 903 | 18 | 1557 | -267 | 40.85% | 58.00% | -17.15% |
| Allegan Twp | 782 | 961 | 21 | 1764 | -179 | 44.33% | 54.48% | -10.15% |
| Casco Twp | 551 | 597 | 12 | 1160 | -46 | 47.50% | 51.47% | -3.97% |
| Cheshire Twp | 360 | 444 | 16 | 820 | -84 | 43.90% | 54.15% | -10.24% |
| Clyde Twp | 293 | 301 | 12 | 606 | -8 | 48.35% | 49.67% | -1.32% |
| Dorr Twp | 1950 | 1132 | 31 | 3113 | 818 | 62.64% | 36.36% | 26.28% |
| City of Douglas | 212 | 367 | 8 | 587 | -155 | 36.12% | 62.52% | -26.41% |
| City of Fennville | 150 | 152 | 10 | 312 | -2 | 48.08% | 48.72% | -0.64% |
| Fillmore Twp | 1023 | 205 | 10 | 1238 | 818 | 82.63% | 16.56% | 66.07% |
| Ganges Twp | 558 | 609 | 18 | 1185 | -51 | 47.09% | 51.39% | -4.30% |
| Gunplain Twp | 1118 | 1359 | 47 | 2524 | -241 | 44.29% | 53.84% | -9.55% |
| Heath Twp | 992 | 409 | 13 | 1414 | 583 | 70.16% | 28.93% | 41.23% |
| City of Holland | 1863 | 917 | 22 | 2802 | 946 | 66.49% | 32.73% | 33.76% |
| Hopkins Twp | 608 | 507 | 13 | 1128 | 101 | 53.90% | 44.95% | 8.95% |
| Laketown Twp | 2103 | 1032 | 39 | 3174 | 1071 | 66.26% | 32.51% | 33.74% |
| Lee Twp | 397 | 432 | 24 | 853 | -35 | 46.54% | 50.64% | -4.10% |
| Leighton Township | 1449 | 577 | 19 | 2045 | 872 | 70.86% | 28.22% | 42.64% |
| Manlius Twp | 809 | 435 | 8 | 1252 | 374 | 64.62% | 34.74% | 29.87% |
| Martin Twp | 581 | 397 | 10 | 988 | 184 | 58.81% | 40.18% | 18.62% |
| Monterey Twp | 484 | 338 | 11 | 833 | 146 | 58.10% | 40.58% | 17.53% |
| City of Otsego | 539 | 779 | 22 | 1340 | -240 | 40.22% | 58.13% | -17.91% |
| Otsego Twp | 889 | 1169 | 22 | 2080 | -280 | 42.74% | 56.20% | -13.46% |
| Overisel Twp | 1158 | 180 | 11 | 1349 | 978 | 85.84% | 13.34% | 72.50% |
| City of Plainwell | 576 | 802 | 23 | 1401 | -226 | 41.11% | 57.24% | -16.13% |
| Salem Twp | 1111 | 554 | 9 | 1674 | 557 | 66.37% | 33.09% | 33.27% |
| City of Saugatuck | 201 | 377 | 8 | 586 | -176 | 34.30% | 64.33% | -30.03% |
| Saugatuck Twp | 643 | 811 | 14 | 1468 | -168 | 43.80% | 55.25% | -11.44% |
| City of South Haven | 1 | 5 | 6 | -4 | 16.67% | 83.33% | -66.67% | |
| Trowbridge Twp | 440 | 590 | 14 | 1044 | -150 | 42.15% | 56.51% | -14.37% |
| Valley Twp | 363 | 388 | 16 | 767 | -25 | 47.33% | 50.59% | -3.26% |
| Watson Twp | 376 | 410 | 10 | 796 | -34 | 47.24% | 51.51% | -4.27% |
| City of Wayland | 739 | 717 | 15 | 1471 | 22 | 50.24% | 48.74% | 1.50% |
| Wayland Twp | 616 | 680 | 22 | 1318 | -64 | 46.74% | 51.59% | -4.86% |
| Total | 24571 | 19536 | 548 | 44655 | 5035 | 55.02% | 43.75% | 11.28% |
The Secretary of State and Attorney General races were the 06 bright spots. Land didn't have much of a dropoff from 2002.
| Sec of State 06 | Land | Sabaugh | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| City of Allegan | 905 | 580 | 39 | 1524 | 325 | 59.38% | 38.06% | 21.33% |
| Allegan Twp | 1083 | 610 | 32 | 1725 | 473 | 62.78% | 35.36% | 27.42% |
| Casco Twp | 653 | 436 | 33 | 1122 | 217 | 58.20% | 38.86% | 19.34% |
| Cheshire Twp | 494 | 293 | 21 | 808 | 201 | 61.14% | 36.26% | 24.88% |
| Clyde Twp | 353 | 236 | 9 | 598 | 117 | 59.03% | 39.46% | 19.57% |
| Dorr Twp | 2380 | 720 | 40 | 3140 | 1660 | 75.80% | 22.93% | 52.87% |
| City of Douglas | 294 | 260 | 20 | 574 | 34 | 51.22% | 45.30% | 5.92% |
| City of Fennville | 199 | 102 | 7 | 308 | 97 | 64.61% | 33.12% | 31.49% |
| Fillmore Twp | 1082 | 127 | 19 | 1228 | 955 | 88.11% | 10.34% | 77.77% |
| Ganges Twp | 727 | 404 | 29 | 1160 | 323 | 62.67% | 34.83% | 27.84% |
| Gunplain Twp | 1534 | 873 | 50 | 2457 | 661 | 62.43% | 35.53% | 26.90% |
| Heath Twp | 1159 | 213 | 16 | 1388 | 946 | 83.50% | 15.35% | 68.16% |
| City of Holland | 2193 | 543 | 36 | 2772 | 1650 | 79.11% | 19.59% | 59.52% |
| Hopkins Twp | 758 | 337 | 19 | 1114 | 421 | 68.04% | 30.25% | 37.79% |
| Laketown Twp | 2501 | 604 | 40 | 3145 | 1897 | 79.52% | 19.21% | 60.32% |
| Lee Twp | 450 | 339 | 41 | 830 | 111 | 54.22% | 40.84% | 13.37% |
| Leighton Township | 1647 | 348 | 27 | 2022 | 1299 | 81.45% | 17.21% | 64.24% |
| Manlius Twp | 956 | 269 | 11 | 1236 | 687 | 77.35% | 21.76% | 55.58% |
| Martin Twp | 713 | 260 | 11 | 984 | 453 | 72.46% | 26.42% | 46.04% |
| Monterey Twp | 577 | 229 | 23 | 829 | 348 | 69.60% | 27.62% | 41.98% |
| City of Otsego | 797 | 481 | 26 | 1304 | 316 | 61.12% | 36.89% | 24.23% |
| Otsego Twp | 1264 | 710 | 36 | 2010 | 554 | 62.89% | 35.32% | 27.56% |
| Overisel Twp | 1237 | 98 | 8 | 1343 | 1139 | 92.11% | 7.30% | 84.81% |
| City of Plainwell | 825 | 499 | 37 | 1361 | 326 | 60.62% | 36.66% | 23.95% |
| Salem Twp | 1324 | 310 | 13 | 1647 | 1014 | 80.39% | 18.82% | 61.57% |
| City of Saugatuck | 288 | 257 | 20 | 565 | 31 | 50.97% | 45.49% | 5.49% |
| Saugatuck Twp | 851 | 568 | 29 | 1448 | 283 | 58.77% | 39.23% | 19.54% |
| City of South Haven | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 50.00% | 50.00% | 0.00% | |
| Trowbridge Twp | 590 | 395 | 29 | 1014 | 195 | 58.19% | 38.95% | 19.23% |
| Valley Twp | 487 | 237 | 22 | 746 | 250 | 65.28% | 31.77% | 33.51% |
| Watson Twp | 497 | 265 | 19 | 781 | 232 | 63.64% | 33.93% | 29.71% |
| City of Wayland | 977 | 445 | 28 | 1450 | 532 | 67.38% | 30.69% | 36.69% |
| Wayland Twp | 833 | 421 | 33 | 1287 | 412 | 64.72% | 32.71% | 32.01% |
| Total | 30631 | 12472 | 823 | 43926 | 18159 | 69.73% | 28.39% | 41.34% |
Mike Cox actually improved over his 2002 numbers statewide.
| AG 06 | Cox | Williams | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| City of Allegan | 828 | 607 | 62 | 1497 | 221 | 55.31% | 40.55% | 14.76% |
| Allegan Twp | 1009 | 624 | 58 | 1691 | 385 | 59.67% | 36.90% | 22.77% |
| Casco Twp | 634 | 447 | 38 | 1119 | 187 | 56.66% | 39.95% | 16.71% |
| Cheshire Twp | 456 | 310 | 31 | 797 | 146 | 57.21% | 38.90% | 18.32% |
| Clyde Twp | 337 | 235 | 20 | 592 | 102 | 56.93% | 39.70% | 17.23% |
| Dorr Twp | 2255 | 752 | 93 | 3100 | 1503 | 72.74% | 24.26% | 48.48% |
| City of Douglas | 270 | 281 | 20 | 571 | -11 | 47.29% | 49.21% | -1.93% |
| City of Fennville | 177 | 114 | 8 | 299 | 63 | 59.20% | 38.13% | 21.07% |
| Fillmore Twp | 1062 | 136 | 18 | 1216 | 926 | 87.34% | 11.18% | 76.15% |
| Ganges Twp | 685 | 421 | 45 | 1151 | 264 | 59.51% | 36.58% | 22.94% |
| Gunplain Twp | 1446 | 910 | 78 | 2434 | 536 | 59.41% | 37.39% | 22.02% |
| Heath Twp | 1086 | 255 | 36 | 1377 | 831 | 78.87% | 18.52% | 60.35% |
| City of Holland | 2058 | 607 | 70 | 2735 | 1451 | 75.25% | 22.19% | 53.05% |
| Hopkins Twp | 733 | 345 | 30 | 1108 | 388 | 66.16% | 31.14% | 35.02% |
| Laketown Twp | 2368 | 685 | 59 | 3112 | 1683 | 76.09% | 22.01% | 54.08% |
| Lee Twp | 421 | 351 | 54 | 826 | 70 | 50.97% | 42.49% | 8.47% |
| Leighton Township | 1578 | 378 | 43 | 1999 | 1200 | 78.94% | 18.91% | 60.03% |
| Manlius Twp | 899 | 294 | 24 | 1217 | 605 | 73.87% | 24.16% | 49.71% |
| Martin Twp | 683 | 268 | 21 | 972 | 415 | 70.27% | 27.57% | 42.70% |
| Monterey Twp | 553 | 229 | 36 | 818 | 324 | 67.60% | 28.00% | 39.61% |
| City of Otsego | 764 | 490 | 36 | 1290 | 274 | 59.22% | 37.98% | 21.24% |
| Otsego Twp | 1149 | 759 | 69 | 1977 | 390 | 58.12% | 38.39% | 19.73% |
| Overisel Twp | 1208 | 107 | 22 | 1337 | 1101 | 90.35% | 8.00% | 82.35% |
| City of Plainwell | 777 | 530 | 50 | 1357 | 247 | 57.26% | 39.06% | 18.20% |
| Salem Twp | 1250 | 347 | 45 | 1642 | 903 | 76.13% | 21.13% | 54.99% |
| City of Saugatuck | 255 | 271 | 30 | 556 | -16 | 45.86% | 48.74% | -2.88% |
| Saugatuck Twp | 777 | 606 | 39 | 1422 | 171 | 54.64% | 42.62% | 12.03% |
| City of South Haven | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 50.00% | 50.00% | 0.00% | |
| Trowbridge Twp | 567 | 393 | 41 | 1001 | 174 | 56.64% | 39.26% | 17.38% |
| Valley Twp | 450 | 268 | 27 | 745 | 182 | 60.40% | 35.97% | 24.43% |
| Watson Twp | 457 | 279 | 35 | 771 | 178 | 59.27% | 36.19% | 23.09% |
| City of Wayland | 900 | 480 | 53 | 1433 | 420 | 62.81% | 33.50% | 29.31% |
| Wayland Twp | 755 | 461 | 51 | 1267 | 294 | 59.59% | 36.39% | 23.20% |
| Total | 28850 | 13243 | 1342 | 43435 | 15607 | 66.42% | 30.49% | 35.93% |
Stabenow somehow won re-election by a big margin, similar to Granholm's numbers.
| Senate 06 | Bouchard | Stabenow | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| City of Allegan | 644 | 872 | 33 | 1549 | -228 | 41.58% | 56.29% | -14.72% |
| Allegan Twp | 801 | 917 | 32 | 1750 | -116 | 45.77% | 52.40% | -6.63% |
| Casco Twp | 522 | 600 | 30 | 1152 | -78 | 45.31% | 52.08% | -6.77% |
| Cheshire Twp | 357 | 431 | 30 | 818 | -74 | 43.64% | 52.69% | -9.05% |
| Clyde Twp | 255 | 331 | 18 | 604 | -76 | 42.22% | 54.80% | -12.58% |
| Dorr Twp | 1979 | 1124 | 61 | 3164 | 855 | 62.55% | 35.52% | 27.02% |
| City of Douglas | 215 | 351 | 17 | 583 | -136 | 36.88% | 60.21% | -23.33% |
| City of Fennville | 146 | 151 | 12 | 309 | -5 | 47.25% | 48.87% | -1.62% |
| Fillmore Twp | 1015 | 197 | 20 | 1232 | 818 | 82.39% | 15.99% | 66.40% |
| Ganges Twp | 588 | 564 | 31 | 1183 | 24 | 49.70% | 47.68% | 2.03% |
| Gunplain Twp | 1165 | 1290 | 57 | 2512 | -125 | 46.38% | 51.35% | -4.98% |
| Heath Twp | 992 | 392 | 23 | 1407 | 600 | 70.50% | 27.86% | 42.64% |
| City of Holland | 1871 | 818 | 47 | 2736 | 1053 | 68.38% | 29.90% | 38.49% |
| Hopkins Twp | 619 | 485 | 22 | 1126 | 134 | 54.97% | 43.07% | 11.90% |
| Laketown Twp | 2134 | 990 | 43 | 3167 | 1144 | 67.38% | 31.26% | 36.12% |
| Lee Twp | 344 | 475 | 34 | 853 | -131 | 40.33% | 55.69% | -15.36% |
| Leighton Township | 1458 | 534 | 38 | 2030 | 924 | 71.82% | 26.31% | 45.52% |
| Manlius Twp | 813 | 421 | 16 | 1250 | 392 | 65.04% | 33.68% | 31.36% |
| Martin Twp | 599 | 374 | 16 | 989 | 225 | 60.57% | 37.82% | 22.75% |
| Monterey Twp | 479 | 331 | 23 | 833 | 148 | 57.50% | 39.74% | 17.77% |
| City of Otsego | 540 | 777 | 19 | 1336 | -237 | 40.42% | 58.16% | -17.74% |
| Otsego Twp | 889 | 1128 | 46 | 2063 | -239 | 43.09% | 54.68% | -11.59% |
| Overisel Twp | 1149 | 186 | 15 | 1350 | 963 | 85.11% | 13.78% | 71.33% |
| City of Plainwell | 572 | 795 | 24 | 1391 | -223 | 41.12% | 57.15% | -16.03% |
| Salem Twp | 1107 | 521 | 38 | 1666 | 586 | 66.45% | 31.27% | 35.17% |
| City of Saugatuck | 211 | 358 | 10 | 579 | -147 | 36.44% | 61.83% | -25.39% |
| Saugatuck Twp | 664 | 764 | 29 | 1457 | -100 | 45.57% | 52.44% | -6.86% |
| City of South Haven | 1 | 5 | 6 | -4 | 16.67% | 83.33% | -66.67% | |
| Trowbridge Twp | 448 | 553 | 33 | 1034 | -105 | 43.33% | 53.48% | -10.15% |
| Valley Twp | 355 | 396 | 16 | 767 | -41 | 46.28% | 51.63% | -5.35% |
| Watson Twp | 383 | 386 | 29 | 798 | -3 | 47.99% | 48.37% | -0.38% |
| City of Wayland | 733 | 699 | 36 | 1468 | 34 | 49.93% | 47.62% | 2.32% |
| Wayland Twp | 627 | 638 | 29 | 1294 | -11 | 48.45% | 49.30% | -0.85% |
| Total | 24675 | 18854 | 927 | 44456 | 5821 | 55.50% | 42.41% | 13.09% |
Not even Hoekstra was safe in some areas he normally won. Saugatuck and Douglas flipped to the dems at Congressional level. Hoekstra was still extremely strong there, but it wasn't the normal sweep. He ran 3% behind his 04 numbers, which is good considering the year.
| Congress 2nd 06 | Hoekstra | Kotos | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Dorr Twp | 1150 | 402 | 43 | 1595 | 748 | 72.10% | 25.20% | 46.90% |
| City of Douglas | 275 | 282 | 16 | 573 | -7 | 47.99% | 49.21% | -1.22% |
| City of Fennville | 179 | 107 | 13 | 299 | 72 | 59.87% | 35.79% | 24.08% |
| Fillmore Twp | 1079 | 126 | 26 | 1231 | 953 | 87.65% | 10.24% | 77.42% |
| Heath Twp | 1116 | 248 | 28 | 1392 | 868 | 80.17% | 17.82% | 62.36% |
| City of Holland | 2135 | 591 | 41 | 2767 | 1544 | 77.16% | 21.36% | 55.80% |
| Laketown Twp | 2409 | 684 | 60 | 3153 | 1725 | 76.40% | 21.69% | 54.71% |
| Manlius Twp | 941 | 286 | 17 | 1244 | 655 | 75.64% | 22.99% | 52.65% |
| Monterey Twp | 559 | 235 | 29 | 823 | 324 | 67.92% | 28.55% | 39.37% |
| Overisel Twp | 1213 | 106 | 27 | 1346 | 1107 | 90.12% | 7.88% | 82.24% |
| Salem Twp | 1255 | 347 | 42 | 1644 | 908 | 76.34% | 21.11% | 55.23% |
| City of Saugatuck | 277 | 281 | 16 | 574 | -4 | 48.26% | 48.95% | -0.70% |
| Saugatuck Twp | 814 | 603 | 31 | 1448 | 211 | 56.22% | 41.64% | 14.57% |
| Total | 13402 | 4298 | 389 | 18089 | 9104 | 74.09% | 23.76% | 50.33% |
Upton won easily, but ran 7% behind his 04 numbers. It was a sweep and over 60% in the county still.
| Congress 6th 06 | Upton | Clark | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| City of Allegan | 840 | 640 | 39 | 1519 | 200 | 55.30% | 42.13% | 13.17% |
| Allegan Twp | 1005 | 685 | 32 | 1722 | 320 | 58.36% | 39.78% | 18.58% |
| Casco Twp | 663 | 455 | 20 | 1138 | 208 | 58.26% | 39.98% | 18.28% |
| Cheshire Twp | 464 | 316 | 24 | 804 | 148 | 57.71% | 39.30% | 18.41% |
| Clyde Twp | 334 | 246 | 10 | 590 | 88 | 56.61% | 41.69% | 14.92% |
| Dorr Twp | 988 | 471 | 39 | 1498 | 517 | 65.95% | 31.44% | 34.51% |
| Ganges Twp | 690 | 456 | 22 | 1168 | 234 | 59.08% | 39.04% | 20.03% |
| Gunplain Twp | 1516 | 906 | 49 | 2471 | 610 | 61.35% | 36.67% | 24.69% |
| Hopkins Twp | 654 | 415 | 31 | 1100 | 239 | 59.45% | 37.73% | 21.73% |
| Lee Twp | 427 | 377 | 29 | 833 | 50 | 51.26% | 45.26% | 6.00% |
| Leighton Township | 1510 | 435 | 38 | 1983 | 1075 | 76.15% | 21.94% | 54.21% |
| Martin Twp | 678 | 286 | 14 | 978 | 392 | 69.33% | 29.24% | 40.08% |
| City of Otsego | 808 | 488 | 23 | 1319 | 320 | 61.26% | 37.00% | 24.26% |
| Otsego Twp | 1241 | 756 | 30 | 2027 | 485 | 61.22% | 37.30% | 23.93% |
| City of Plainwell | 790 | 550 | 29 | 1369 | 240 | 57.71% | 40.18% | 17.53% |
| City of South Haven | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 50.00% | 50.00% | 0.00% | |
| Trowbridge Twp | 560 | 436 | 26 | 1022 | 124 | 54.79% | 42.66% | 12.13% |
| Valley Twp | 444 | 285 | 13 | 742 | 159 | 59.84% | 38.41% | 21.43% |
| Watson Twp | 440 | 310 | 32 | 782 | 130 | 56.27% | 39.64% | 16.62% |
| City of Wayland | 807 | 575 | 40 | 1422 | 232 | 56.75% | 40.44% | 16.32% |
| Wayland Twp | 692 | 540 | 32 | 1264 | 152 | 54.75% | 42.72% | 12.03% |
| Total | 15554 | 9631 | 572 | 25757 | 5923 | 60.39% | 37.39% | 23.00% |
The State Senate seat was not a contest in Allegan County. Birkholz won easily.
| St. Senate 24th 06 | Birkholz | Royston | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| City of Allegan | 819 | 695 | 1514 | 124 | 54.10% | 45.90% | 8.19% | |
| Allegan Twp | 963 | 740 | 1703 | 223 | 56.55% | 43.45% | 13.09% | |
| Casco Twp | 631 | 481 | 1112 | 150 | 56.74% | 43.26% | 13.49% | |
| Cheshire Twp | 459 | 337 | 796 | 122 | 57.66% | 42.34% | 15.33% | |
| Clyde Twp | 351 | 240 | 591 | 111 | 59.39% | 40.61% | 18.78% | |
| Dorr Twp | 2078 | 982 | 3060 | 1096 | 67.91% | 32.09% | 35.82% | |
| City of Douglas | 330 | 245 | 575 | 85 | 57.39% | 42.61% | 14.78% | |
| City of Fennville | 182 | 121 | 303 | 61 | 60.07% | 39.93% | 20.13% | |
| Fillmore Twp | 1065 | 149 | 1214 | 916 | 87.73% | 12.27% | 75.45% | |
| Ganges Twp | 723 | 439 | 1162 | 284 | 62.22% | 37.78% | 24.44% | |
| Gunplain Twp | 1377 | 1030 | 2407 | 347 | 57.21% | 42.79% | 14.42% | |
| Heath Twp | 1089 | 287 | 1376 | 802 | 79.14% | 20.86% | 58.28% | |
| City of Holland | 1687 | 505 | 2192 | 1182 | 76.96% | 23.04% | 53.92% | |
| Hopkins Twp | 655 | 439 | 1094 | 216 | 59.87% | 40.13% | 19.74% | |
| Laketown Twp | 2406 | 695 | 3101 | 1711 | 77.59% | 22.41% | 55.18% | |
| Lee Twp | 419 | 388 | 807 | 31 | 51.92% | 48.08% | 3.84% | |
| Leighton Township | 1508 | 470 | 1978 | 1038 | 76.24% | 23.76% | 52.48% | |
| Manlius Twp | 925 | 299 | 1224 | 626 | 75.57% | 24.43% | 51.14% | |
| Martin Twp | 652 | 311 | 963 | 341 | 67.71% | 32.29% | 35.41% | |
| Monterey Twp | 510 | 300 | 810 | 210 | 62.96% | 37.04% | 25.93% | |
| City of Otsego | 734 | 566 | 1300 | 168 | 56.46% | 43.54% | 12.92% | |
| Otsego Twp | 1155 | 846 | 2001 | 309 | 57.72% | 42.28% | 15.44% | |
| Overisel Twp | 1210 | 121 | 1331 | 1089 | 90.91% | 9.09% | 81.82% | |
| City of Plainwell | 742 | 597 | 1339 | 145 | 55.41% | 44.59% | 10.83% | |
| Salem Twp | 1182 | 438 | 1620 | 744 | 72.96% | 27.04% | 45.93% | |
| City of Saugatuck | 341 | 236 | 577 | 105 | 59.10% | 40.90% | 18.20% | |
| Saugatuck Twp | 914 | 535 | 1449 | 379 | 63.08% | 36.92% | 26.16% | |
| City of South Haven | 2 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 33.33% | 66.67% | -33.33% | |
| Trowbridge Twp | 530 | 473 | 1003 | 57 | 52.84% | 47.16% | 5.68% | |
| Valley Twp | 433 | 306 | 739 | 127 | 58.59% | 41.41% | 17.19% | |
| Watson Twp | 425 | 344 | 769 | 81 | 55.27% | 44.73% | 10.53% | |
| City of Wayland | 795 | 617 | 1412 | 178 | 56.30% | 43.70% | 12.61% | |
| Wayland Twp | 664 | 601 | 1265 | 63 | 52.49% | 47.51% | 4.98% | |
| Total | 27956 | 14837 | 0 | 42793 | 13119 | 65.33% | 34.67% | 30.66% |
Schuitmaker won easily her part of Allegan County.
| St.Rep 80th 06 | Schuitmaker | Olson | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| City of Otsego | 752 | 523 | 1275 | 229 | 58.98% | 41.02% | 17.96% | |
| Otsego Twp | 1158 | 802 | 1960 | 356 | 59.08% | 40.92% | 18.16% | |
| Watson Twp | 412 | 337 | 749 | 75 | 55.01% | 44.99% | 10.01% | |
| Total | 2322 | 1662 | 0 | 3984 | 660 | 58.28% | 41.72% | 16.57% |
Sheen had no problem thanks to the northern part of the county. The dems took Allegan City, Douglas, Lee Twp, Saugatuck, and the small portion of South Haven however.
| St Rep 88th 06 | Sheen | Weichman | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| City of Allegan | 698 | 744 | 56 | 1498 | -46 | 46.60% | 49.67% | -3.07% |
| Allegan Twp | 864 | 788 | 42 | 1694 | 76 | 51.00% | 46.52% | 4.49% |
| Casco Twp | 538 | 506 | 43 | 1087 | 32 | 49.49% | 46.55% | 2.94% |
| Cheshire Twp | 420 | 346 | 23 | 789 | 74 | 53.23% | 43.85% | 9.38% |
| Clyde Twp | 293 | 278 | 17 | 588 | 15 | 49.83% | 47.28% | 2.55% |
| Dorr Twp | 2017 | 970 | 57 | 3044 | 1047 | 66.26% | 31.87% | 34.40% |
| City of Douglas | 222 | 319 | 24 | 565 | -97 | 39.29% | 56.46% | -17.17% |
| City of Fennville | 158 | 129 | 12 | 299 | 29 | 52.84% | 43.14% | 9.70% |
| Fillmore Twp | 1022 | 167 | 15 | 1204 | 855 | 84.88% | 13.87% | 71.01% |
| Ganges Twp | 610 | 497 | 39 | 1146 | 113 | 53.23% | 43.37% | 9.86% |
| Gunplain Twp | 1283 | 1037 | 68 | 2388 | 246 | 53.73% | 43.43% | 10.30% |
| Heath Twp | 998 | 345 | 18 | 1361 | 653 | 73.33% | 25.35% | 47.98% |
| City of Holland | 1933 | 707 | 65 | 2705 | 1226 | 71.46% | 26.14% | 45.32% |
| Hopkins Twp | 632 | 436 | 25 | 1093 | 196 | 57.82% | 39.89% | 17.93% |
| Laketown Twp | 2213 | 790 | 63 | 3066 | 1423 | 72.18% | 25.77% | 46.41% |
| Lee Twp | 368 | 411 | 37 | 816 | -43 | 45.10% | 50.37% | -5.27% |
| Leighton Township | 1477 | 469 | 30 | 1976 | 1008 | 74.75% | 23.73% | 51.01% |
| Manlius Twp | 847 | 334 | 26 | 1207 | 513 | 70.17% | 27.67% | 42.50% |
| Martin Twp | 629 | 311 | 22 | 962 | 318 | 65.38% | 32.33% | 33.06% |
| Monterey Twp | 488 | 298 | 24 | 810 | 190 | 60.25% | 36.79% | 23.46% |
| City of Otsego | 0 | 0 | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0! | |||
| Otsego Twp | 0 | 0 | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0! | |||
| Overisel Twp | 1160 | 150 | 14 | 1324 | 1010 | 87.61% | 11.33% | 76.28% |
| City of Plainwell | 693 | 615 | 40 | 1348 | 78 | 51.41% | 45.62% | 5.79% |
| Salem Twp | 1138 | 445 | 21 | 1604 | 693 | 70.95% | 27.74% | 43.20% |
| City of Saugatuck | 213 | 308 | 29 | 550 | -95 | 38.73% | 56.00% | -17.27% |
| Saugatuck Twp | 685 | 679 | 54 | 1418 | 6 | 48.31% | 47.88% | 0.42% |
| City of South Haven | 2 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 33.33% | 66.67% | -33.33% | |
| Trowbridge Twp | 493 | 480 | 30 | 1003 | 13 | 49.15% | 47.86% | 1.30% |
| Valley Twp | 351 | 349 | 27 | 727 | 2 | 48.28% | 48.01% | 0.28% |
| Watson Twp | 0 | 0 | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0! | #DIV/0! | |||
| City of Wayland | 740 | 609 | 39 | 1388 | 131 | 53.31% | 43.88% | 9.44% |
| Wayland Twp | 631 | 578 | 40 | 1249 | 53 | 50.52% | 46.28% | 4.24% |
| Total | 23816 | 14099 | 1000 | 38915 | 9717 | 61.20% | 36.23% | 24.97% |
2008 was a bad year for the GOP in Michigan, and Allegan County was no exception. While McCain won the county, Obama took 18 municipalities to McCain's 15. Contrasting that to 2004, Kerry took three. He maybe took four depending which parts of then Saugatuck Township voted democrat. I suspect that Douglas went blue and the rest of the township did not in 04. The question is that is this an aberration or not. A charasmatic candidate with no substance against an old guy who quit the state, and announced it to the world. A 54% win here is not a true win statewide.
| POTUS 08 | McCain | Obama | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| City of Allegan | 845 | 1212 | 43 | 2100 | -367 | 40.24% | 57.71% | -17.48% |
| Allegan Twp | 946 | 1114 | 42 | 2102 | -168 | 45.00% | 53.00% | -7.99% |
| Casco Twp | 636 | 792 | 20 | 1448 | -156 | 43.92% | 54.70% | -10.77% |
| Cheshire Twp | 456 | 524 | 29 | 1009 | -68 | 45.19% | 51.93% | -6.74% |
| Clyde Twp | 359 | 446 | 18 | 823 | -87 | 43.62% | 54.19% | -10.57% |
| Dorr Twp | 2483 | 1331 | 84 | 3898 | 1152 | 63.70% | 34.15% | 29.55% |
| City of Douglas | 246 | 472 | 7 | 725 | -226 | 33.93% | 65.10% | -31.17% |
| City of Fennville | 163 | 279 | 6 | 448 | -116 | 36.38% | 62.28% | -25.89% |
| Fillmore Twp | 1124 | 308 | 31 | 1463 | 816 | 76.83% | 21.05% | 55.78% |
| Ganges Twp | 662 | 708 | 36 | 1406 | -46 | 47.08% | 50.36% | -3.27% |
| Gunplain Twp | 1520 | 1621 | 67 | 3208 | -101 | 47.38% | 50.53% | -3.15% |
| Heath Twp | 1204 | 506 | 38 | 1748 | 698 | 68.88% | 28.95% | 39.93% |
| City of Holland | 2093 | 1391 | 40 | 3524 | 702 | 59.39% | 39.47% | 19.92% |
| Hopkins Twp | 770 | 514 | 33 | 1317 | 256 | 58.47% | 39.03% | 19.44% |
| Laketown Twp | 2318 | 1285 | 53 | 3656 | 1033 | 63.40% | 35.15% | 28.25% |
| Lee Twp | 428 | 635 | 17 | 1080 | -207 | 39.63% | 58.80% | -19.17% |
| Leighton Township | 1739 | 681 | 43 | 2463 | 1058 | 70.60% | 27.65% | 42.96% |
| Manlius Twp | 991 | 569 | 20 | 1580 | 422 | 62.72% | 36.01% | 26.71% |
| Martin Twp | 761 | 455 | 17 | 1233 | 306 | 61.72% | 36.90% | 24.82% |
| Monterey Twp | 597 | 450 | 20 | 1067 | 147 | 55.95% | 42.17% | 13.78% |
| City of Otsego | 711 | 982 | 34 | 1727 | -271 | 41.17% | 56.86% | -15.69% |
| Otsego Twp | 1217 | 1433 | 58 | 2708 | -216 | 44.94% | 52.92% | -7.98% |
| Overisel Twp | 1334 | 274 | 32 | 1640 | 1060 | 81.34% | 16.71% | 64.63% |
| City of Plainwell | 731 | 1035 | 33 | 1799 | -304 | 40.63% | 57.53% | -16.90% |
| Salem Twp | 1509 | 630 | 48 | 2187 | 879 | 69.00% | 28.81% | 40.19% |
| City of Saugatuck | 229 | 396 | 13 | 638 | -167 | 35.89% | 62.07% | -26.18% |
| Saugatuck Twp | 779 | 963 | 27 | 1769 | -184 | 44.04% | 54.44% | -10.40% |
| City of South Haven | 2 | 5 | 7 | -3 | 28.57% | 71.43% | -42.86% | |
| Trowbridge Twp | 575 | 623 | 30 | 1228 | -48 | 46.82% | 50.73% | -3.91% |
| Valley Twp | 442 | 516 | 15 | 973 | -74 | 45.43% | 53.03% | -7.61% |
| Watson Twp | 470 | 447 | 21 | 938 | 23 | 50.11% | 47.65% | 2.45% |
| City of Wayland | 883 | 843 | 38 | 1764 | 40 | 50.06% | 47.79% | 2.27% |
| Wayland Twp | 838 | 725 | 33 | 1596 | 113 | 52.51% | 45.43% | 7.08% |
| Total | 30061 | 24165 | 1046 | 55272 | 5896 | 54.39% | 43.72% | 10.67% |
The Senate Seat was the result of Jack Hoogendyk being thrown to the wolves.
| Senate 08 | Hoogendyk | Levin | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| City of Allegan | 718 | 1230 | 93 | 2041 | -512 | 35.18% | 60.26% | -25.09% |
| Allegan Twp | 844 | 1123 | 81 | 2048 | -279 | 41.21% | 54.83% | -13.62% |
| Casco Twp | 556 | 813 | 49 | 1418 | -257 | 39.21% | 57.33% | -18.12% |
| Cheshire Twp | 388 | 545 | 45 | 978 | -157 | 39.67% | 55.73% | -16.05% |
| Clyde Twp | 296 | 453 | 28 | 777 | -157 | 38.10% | 58.30% | -20.21% |
| Dorr Twp | 2243 | 1403 | 142 | 3788 | 840 | 59.21% | 37.04% | 22.18% |
| City of Douglas | 233 | 456 | 25 | 714 | -223 | 32.63% | 63.87% | -31.23% |
| City of Fennville | 153 | 261 | 18 | 432 | -108 | 35.42% | 60.42% | -25.00% |
| Fillmore Twp | 1090 | 318 | 31 | 1439 | 772 | 75.75% | 22.10% | 53.65% |
| Ganges Twp | 565 | 757 | 57 | 1379 | -192 | 40.97% | 54.89% | -13.92% |
| Gunplain Twp | 1360 | 1648 | 131 | 3139 | -288 | 43.33% | 52.50% | -9.17% |
| Heath Twp | 1135 | 538 | 55 | 1728 | 597 | 65.68% | 31.13% | 34.55% |
| City of Holland | 2042 | 1312 | 80 | 3434 | 730 | 59.46% | 38.21% | 21.26% |
| Hopkins Twp | 697 | 543 | 50 | 1290 | 154 | 54.03% | 42.09% | 11.94% |
| Laketown Twp | 2248 | 1274 | 87 | 3609 | 974 | 62.29% | 35.30% | 26.99% |
| Lee Twp | 341 | 650 | 54 | 1045 | -309 | 32.63% | 62.20% | -29.57% |
| Leighton Township | 1648 | 708 | 67 | 2423 | 940 | 68.01% | 29.22% | 38.79% |
| Manlius Twp | 903 | 598 | 39 | 1540 | 305 | 58.64% | 38.83% | 19.81% |
| Martin Twp | 701 | 478 | 31 | 1210 | 223 | 57.93% | 39.50% | 18.43% |
| Monterey Twp | 516 | 484 | 41 | 1041 | 32 | 49.57% | 46.49% | 3.07% |
| City of Otsego | 595 | 1005 | 69 | 1669 | -410 | 35.65% | 60.22% | -24.57% |
| Otsego Twp | 1095 | 1444 | 85 | 2624 | -349 | 41.73% | 55.03% | -13.30% |
| Overisel Twp | 1282 | 384 | 38 | 1704 | 898 | 75.23% | 22.54% | 52.70% |
| City of Plainwell | 675 | 1015 | 65 | 1755 | -340 | 38.46% | 57.83% | -19.37% |
| Salem Twp | 1373 | 673 | 83 | 2129 | 700 | 64.49% | 31.61% | 32.88% |
| City of Saugatuck | 204 | 397 | 26 | 627 | -193 | 32.54% | 63.32% | -30.78% |
| Saugatuck Twp | 691 | 989 | 50 | 1730 | -298 | 39.94% | 57.17% | -17.23% |
| City of South Haven | 0 | 7 | 7 | -7 | 0.00% | ####### | ####### | |
| Trowbridge Twp | 505 | 643 | 58 | 1206 | -138 | 41.87% | 53.32% | -11.44% |
| Valley Twp | 383 | 531 | 33 | 947 | -148 | 40.44% | 56.07% | -15.63% |
| Watson Twp | 405 | 471 | 47 | 923 | -66 | 43.88% | 51.03% | -7.15% |
| City of Wayland | 782 | 875 | 63 | 1720 | -93 | 45.47% | 50.87% | -5.41% |
| Wayland Twp | 735 | 748 | 61 | 1544 | -13 | 47.60% | 48.45% | -0.84% |
| Total | 27402 | 24774 | 1882 | 54058 | 2628 | 50.69% | 45.83% | 4.86% |
Congressional seats did not change much from 06. Hoekstra and Upton bled a little, but still ran far ahead of McCain, and even Bush's 04 numbers. Hoeksta kept above 70%.
| Congress 2nd 08 | Hoekstra | Johnson | 3rd party | Total | Diff. | GOP% | Dem% | Diff% |
| Dorr Twp | 1434 | 494 | 59 | 1987 | 940 | 72.17% | 24.86% | 47.31% |
| City of Douglas | 322 | 373 | 17 | 712 | -51 | 45.22% | 52.39% | -7.16% |
| City of Fennville | 234 | 187 | 11 | 432 | 47 | 54.17% | 43.29% | 10.88% |
| Fillmore Twp | 1209 | 211 | 26 | 1446 | 998 | 83.61% | 14.59% | 69.02% |
| Heath Twp | 1311 | 365 | 51 | 1727 | 946 | 75.91% | 21.13% | 54.78% |
| City of Holland | 2448 | 986 | 40 | 3474 | 1462 | <