GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Kent County Clerk is now the running mate of the GOP candidate for Michigan Governor.
Bill Schuette announced that Lisa Posthumus Lyons will be the candidate for lieutenant governor of Michigan.
Attorney General Schuette made the announcement Wednesday morning at Kent County GOP Headquarters in Grand Rapids.
“This is certainly not something I pursued or even expected, so to be considered was such a tremendous honor," Lyons says.
Choosing Lyons as his running mate raises doubt over the campaign's standing with Schuette's most famous supporter, President Donald Trump.
In 2016, following the controversy over Trump's remarks on an Access Hollywood tape, Lyons posted a statement on her Facebook page that stated she did not support then-candidate Donald Trump.
On Wednesday morning following the announcement that she will be Schuette's running mate, she said otherwise.
“I support President Trump and the policies that are coming out of this administration," Lyons says.
Though it's not something she says she expected for herself, the job runs in her family. Her father, Dick Posthumus served as lieutenant governor under former Governor John Engler from 1999 to 2003.
“Truly, I woke up just last weekend and realized that it was 20 years ago this year that my dad was nominated for lieutenant governor and I don’t think there are coincidence in the world. I think that’s part of you know, God’s plan and where he’s placed me," Lyons says.
Posthumus was seen at the announcement on Wednesday but did not speak. Posthumus currently serves as Governor Rick Snyder's chief of staff. Choosing Posthumus' daughter as his running mate points to Schuette's strategy of appealing to moderate Republican voters who supported Snyder's Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley. As of Wednesday, Snyder has not publicly given his support to Schuette after endorsing Calley in the primary.
Choosing Lyons may also help Schuette appeal to female voters as female candidates won primaries across the state in all levels of office, including Schuette's Democratic opponent, former State Senator Gretchen Whitmer.
Whitmer has not yet announced her pick for lieutenant governor.
