FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
Thursday, November 8, 2012
CONTACT: Jessica Tramontana, jessica@progressmichigan.org, 517-974-6302
Voters rejecting Snyder/Bolger agenda; more votes cast for Democratic candidates
LANSING – Progress Michigan released the following statement today after Lansing Republicans re-elected Jase Bolger to serve as Speaker of the House, despite an active and ongoing grand jury investigation into an election fraud scheme.
“It’s disappointing but not surprising that Lansing Republicans have chosen corrupt election fraudster Jase Bolger to lead their caucus for another two years,” said Zack Pohl, Executive Director of Progress Michigan. “This just shows that Lansing Republicans have the wrong priorities for Michigan. Bolger spent his first term as Speaker trying to rig an election and got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Now he’ll spend the new term trying desperately to avoid criminal charges. To move Michigan forward, we need our elected leaders to be focused on improving education and creating good jobs for Michigan workers.”
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON VOTERS REJECTING SNYDER/BOLGER AGENDA:
Democratic House Candidates Won More Votes: Democratic House candidates received a total of 2,186,729 votes in Tuesday’s election, and House Republicans received 1,913,604 votes, according to current vote tallies.
Bolger Bailout Cost Two Key Seats: Republicans wasted significant resources to bailout Jase Bolger – who barely won against an unknown opponent – which diverted resources away from saving former RNC Committeewoman Holly Hughes and longtime Snyder ally Mark Ouimet.
Snyder Loses Most Seats for First-Term Governor: Gov. Rick Snyder lost more seats on Tuesday than any first-term governor since Jim Blanchard in 1984. For comparison, Gov. Jennifer Granholm picked up four Democratic seats in 2004, and Gov. John Engler picked up six Republican seats in 1992.
Voters Repeal Snyder/Bolger EM Law: Voters repealed the so-called Emergency Manager law, which was a cornerstone of the Snyder/Bolger policy agenda.
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