Quick primary update: Michigan, Kansas, and Missouri all go to the polls today to select a slew of candidates. All three are states where Republicans hope to
“„The critical counties in the Republican race will be Kent (Grand Rapids), Oakland (Pontiac), Macomb and Wayne (Detroit); the four counties accounted for about 40 percent of the vote in the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary. But turnout in Ottawa County on the western side of the state will be key for Hoekstra — it sits in his 2nd district base and is one of the most reliably Republican counties in the state.
“„The biggest blow to either campaign came at the close of July when Moran’s ex-campaign manager called out his former boss on social issues, accusing him of having “winced” at being aggressive with his pro-life stance (pro-life groups largely back Tiahrt). Tiahrt’s camp used that in a TV ad to continue its relentless attack on Moran — he went negative from the start before introducing himself with a positive spot to east KS voters — and reinforce the idea that Moran may vote correctly but is not a leader on causes most dear to conservative activists within the party.