GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- After a gathering of Michigan Republican leaders and candidates featuring Vice President Mike Pence, GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette says his pick for lieutenant governor is a woman.
Schuette slipped in this piece of information after the rally during a press huddle. He declined to name who specifically he selected.
In an effort to rally support with Republicans, Pence was the main speaker at the 'GOP Unity Rally' held at the Amway Grand Plaza hotel in downtown Grand Rapids. Unity is something Michigan Republican candidates will need to face Democrats in the November midterm elections.
This is especially true in the gubernatorial race. During the primary, Schuette and Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley were at the center of intra-party fighting that has some worried will leave the party split. Schuette ended up winning just over 50 percent of Republican votes over his three opponents which also included State Senator Patrick Colbeck and Dr. Jim Hines.
It's also the case in the U.S. Senate Republican primary between John James and Sandy Pensler. James beat Pensler by double digits in Tuesday's primary.
Calley, Colbeck, Hines and Pensler attended the rally on Wednesday. However, as of Wednesday evening, Governor Rick Snyder has not publicly given his support to Schuette. Snyder had endorsed Calley in the primary. Schuette says he's not worried about the delay in Snyder's support.
“I’m not worried about that. Shoot, it’s only been less than 24 hours since we had this big election. Look, I’m a positive guy. I’m an optimistic guy," Schuette says.
During the rally, Vice President Pence acknowledged that the midterms could be difficult for Republicans.
“These midterm elections are historically kind of a tough, kind of a tough time," Pence told the crowd. “The conventional wisdom is that it’s gonna be a tough year for Republicans in Michigan and elsewhere but I think you all know what President Donald Trump thinks of conventional wisdom.”
That history combined with Tuesday’s voter turnout, which brought out 140,000 more Democrats than Republicans in the governors race means Schuette has a lot of people to win over before November 6.
Schuette will face off against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer in the November election.
