Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow should be one of the country’s most vulnerable Senators in 2018: after all, she is an extreme liberal representing a state won by Donald Trump in 2016.
However, with her Republican opponents John James and Bob Young only having a combined $300,000 on hand as Stabenow sits on nearly $7 million, the race is starting to become an afterthought with members of the media and DC power brokers.
Many political observers were stunned to see Michigan fail to make the recent “Top 10 Senate Races To Watch In 2018” released by Politico last week.
For Conservative Michiganders desperate to #DumpDebbie, a more recent entry into the race may be just what it takes to win the seat, businessman Sandy Pensler.
Pensler’s background in taking failing companies and turning them around, saving jobs that would otherwise disappear, is appealing to many Republicans.
President Trump proved against Hillary that a race isn’t all about money, but you still need some money to compete, and though Hillary outspent Trump 2:1, Stabenow currently has over 20x the money of her opponents COMBINED.
James, a West Point Vet and businessman had $200,000 while Young, a former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice, has just $100,000.
Pensler has told Michigan media outlets he will spend millions of his own money to beat Stabenow, a gamechanger that could put the seat in play like never before.
Pensler currently trails Young and James,, but the numbers for all three candidates in the latest poll are pretty close to the margin of error. Young received 11%, James 9%, and Pensler 5%.
With 75% of likely Republican voters undecided, the race is clearly wide open and up for grabs.
One thing to keep an eye on: as Pensler begins to ramp up spending and get his message out through radio, Television, and digital ads, his support will surely rise with voters. James and Young will have an extremely hard time keeping up if they can’t raise some more money quickly.
