Spotlight on the MI 1st Congressional District

Republican Winner, Dr. Dan Benishek
The Michigan 1st, second largest congressional district in land mass east of the Mississippi River, contains the entire Upper Peninsula as well as a portion of the Lower Peninsula. Prior to 1993, the district also covered part of metropolitan Detroit. Thirty of Michigan’s eighty three counties lie within its boundaries resulting in the inclusion of about 44% of the land area in the entire state. A unique feature of the 1st is its extensive length of shoreline, second only to the length of shoreline surrounding the Alaska At-Large District. Since 1993, Democrat Bart Stupak has been the representative but will not seek re-election, primarily because of the negative fallout which resulted from his yea vote in March for the unpopular health care reform bill. In this heavily Polish and Catholic district, Stupak had enjoyed support for his socially conservative views. His vote favoring the health care bill, which included funding for abortion, was viewed by many of his constituents and the nation at large as a betrayal. Democrats nominated State Rep. Gary McDowell, who, like Stupak, claimed to be against pro-life. Winning a district that voted for George W. Bush for president both times and favored Barack Obama by a scant two points in 2008 presented a challenge to any Democrat, especially one following in Stupak’s wake. The contest for the Republican primary was as close as they come with surgeon Dan Benishek winning by a mere 15 votes over State Sen. Jason Allen. The general election was a romp, with Benishek taking 52% of the vote toMcDowell's 41%. Dan’s not a career politician. He doesn’t really have a political bone in his body. But when Congress passed a nearly trillion dollar stimulus bill in the middle of the night that no one had read, he shocked his wife, his friends and everyone who knew him: he declared that he could either shout at this TV set for the rest of his life, or he would run for Congress. He ran and he won!
Dan Benishek
  • Michigan native
  • Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology, University of Michigan, 1974
  • Doctor of Medicine Degree, Wayne State Medical School, 1978
  • General Surgeon, 1983-present
  • NRA member

ISSUES

  • Job Creation. Our best hope lies within the private, not public, sector. In particular, we need to support small business, which creates the bulk of new jobs. Government should step aside and let the free market work by reducing burdensome regulation and taxation.
  • Fiscal Responsibility. Government is out of control and is squandering our children’s future! I say no to more government bail-outs, business takeovers, and growing entitlements. It is time to make drastic cuts in spending, balance our budget, stop printing money and start paying down our ballooning national debt.
  • Lower Taxes. I believe that a government which governs least is a government which governs best. We need a government of the people, by the people and for the people. We need to reduce oppressive taxation and allow individual citizens to keep and invest more of their hard-earned money. We need to shrink the size and scope of our government to be in line with that envisioned by our founding fathers.
  • Secure Borders. Immigration must be legal and regulated and our borders must be secure. Uncontrolled access to our country increases entitlement expenses, decreases available jobs and renders us vulnerable to terrorists who want to destroy us.
  • Health Care. America has the best health care system in the world – a system that needs fine-tuning but definitely not a government take-over! We need to focus on free market reforms, which will increase competition and decrease costs. A good place to start would be to allow health care insurance to be tax deductible, portable and sold across state lines. Additionally, we must pass tort reform to rein in skyrocketing costs associated with frivolous medical law suits.
  • Energy Independence. Radical environmentalism has rendered energy development next to impossible. While we must be good stewards of the earth, God gave us this earth and all its resources for our needs. America has huge coal, natural gas and oil reserves. We need to responsibly tap into these reserves and stop relying on other nations to supply our energy. In addition, we need to vigorously expand our use of nuclear power as a safe, clean and efficient source of energy.
  • National Defense. It is a primary responsibility of our federal government to provide a strong national defense to protect our nation, our liberty and our ideals. We should honor and respect our armed services and veterans, not undermine their strength and dignity. Additionally, we must aggressively pursue the war on terror and we must try prisoners of war in military tribunals, not as citizens in our civilian courts.
  • Second Amendment. I believe in the individual’s right to self-defense. The right to bear arms secures other rights such as freedom of speech, freedom to assemble and freedom to practice religion. If we allow disarmament of our citizens, we render our nation vulnerable to tyranny.
  • Right to Life. I believe in the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Paramount is life. From conception to death, all human life must be considered sacred and must be protected.
On Obamacare: Read it, reduce it, repeal it, reform it.
Dan Benishek Television Ad: "The 4Rs"
The Spotlight On reports are overviews of actual Republican primary winners or top Republican primary contenders. Spotlights should not be interpreted as recommendations to support specific candidates. Before supporting any candidate, do thorough research to confirm that the candidate shares your views on issues you deem most important.