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Michigan GOP Senate Candidate James Craig Loses Two Top Campaign Aides (Exclusive) [1]

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Date: 2023-10-21 15:34:41

Former Detroit Chief of Police James Craig’s Senate campaign is already in turmoil a little more than two weeks after he launched his bid.

Craig’s campaign manager, August Atencio, resigned on October 20, seventeen days after Craig launched his bid.

“I resigned due to differing opinions on the strategic direction of the campaign,” he said in a statement to The Messenger.

Craig’s deputy campaign manager, Joe Petriella, resigned for similar reasons, Atencio told The Messenger.

Ted Goodman, senior adviser to the Craig campaign, told The Messenger in a statement that "this is a non-story being pushed by our political opponents."

"Chief James Craig has been talking to a number of folks about this race as he takes his message directly to the people of Michigan," Goodman said. The momentum is clearly behind Chief James Craig for U.S. Senate—as the polling data shows—so I'm not surprised that our primary opponents are attempting to create news where there is none."

Goodman, who has advised Craig since he ran for Governor, will now take the lead of the campaign.

"I have nothing but positive things to say about August and Joe, and I wish them continued success in all that they do," he said.

Michigan’s Senate seat, which is being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, is the only open seat in a competitive state in 2024 and will be tightly contested by both parties. The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee has endorsed former Rep. Mike Rogers, who served seven terms in the House, retiring in 2015.

In September, The Messenger reported that Craig and Atencio received calls from Katie Walsh Shields, a top consultant with Rogers’s campaign, where she pressured Craig not to get into the race.

Craig, who was once seen as the frontrunner for the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nomination in Michigan, was kicked off the ballot for that race after his campaign botched the petition signatures needed.

Michigan’s GOP primary will be a battle between the old guard of the Republican Party versus the Trump wing, and Craig is attempting to position himself as the MAGA candidate in the race.

Rogers and Craig could soon be joined the primary by former Rep. Peter Meijer, who launched an exploratory committee for a potential Senate bid. Meijer was one of the ten Republicans that voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

A survey from Democratic firm Public Policy Polling conducted October 10-11 found Craig leading Rogers, 30%-19%, although most voters (51%) were unsure.

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[1] Url: https://themessenger.com/politics/michigan-gop-senate-candidate-james-craig-loses-two-top-campaign-aides-exclusive

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