MI-11: Dillon Is Out

MI-11 is positioned to be one of the Dems’ top pickup possibilities in 2010; it’s a district that Obama won 54-45, where Bad Thad McCotter squeaked past a no-name challenger last year, and where McCotter’s anti-stimulus vote is particularly jarring in one of the most economically hard-hit districts in the country. But we have to have the right candidate to do it, and the Dems’ top recruit, state House speaker Andy Dillon, just said no:

House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.), in Washington D.C. to push for more federal loan money for the Big Three automaker, confirmed today he was approached in the nation’s capital to run in the 11th Congressional District in 2010, but he “respectfully declined.”

Dillon is prevented by term limits from another go-round in the state House, so it’s not as if he has to fear giving up his current seat for a 50-50 shot against McCotter. It might be that he has his eye on something else (possibly the governor’s race, where the most prominent Dem interested so far is Lt. Gov. John Cherry, who may suffer from his ties to unpopular current Gov. Jennifer Granholm).

5 thoughts on “MI-11: Dillon Is Out”

  1. I posted my redistricting diary on Michigan just hours ago, and what to do with Thad McCotter was one of the biggest questions brought up. I posted my Texas redistricting diary one day before news surfaced that the relevant Texas Senate committee was moving forward with Jeff Wentworth’s redistricting commission bill.

  2. http://thehill.com/leading-the

    Also in the article:

    A Michigan source tells The Hill that Dillon is more interested in running for governor, an office that will be vacated when Jennifer Granholm (D) is forced out by term limits.

    Basically says “Obviously” to your last paragraph saying he might be looking at running for governor.  

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