GOP’s Patterson Out of Michigan Governor Race
Michigan Republican L. Brooks Patterson — a well-known suburban Detroit officeholder considered a top-tier 2010 contender for governor — has announced that he is forgoing that race .
Patterson’s decision came less than a month after he topped an Inside Michigan Politics poll on the potentially large field of Republican candidates to succeed two-term Democrat Jennifer M. Granholm , who cannot run again in 2010 under the state’s term-limit law.
The survey, conducted March 4 through 10, showed Patterson with support of 22 percent of respondents. His departure could be a particular boon to state Attorney General Mike Cox , a likely Republican contender who draws his base from the same Detroit suburbs.
In a press release issued Thursday while he vacationed in Florida, Patterson said he intended to “to finish out my career in public service as Oakland County Executive.”
“During these challenging times I cannot justify leaving my position … unattended for the next year and a half while I engage in a statewide campaign for governor,” Patterson wrote. “A prolonged absence from my post was the tipping point in my decision.”
