Lansing — Former state Rep. Sara Cambensy will appear on the November ballot as an independent for an Upper Peninsula senate district that has long been represented by Republicans.
The former Marquette Democrat’s petition signatures were certified by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers despite a challenger maintaining some of the signature sheets were invalid.
Cambensy told canvassers Monday that she was discouraged from running for the seat by chair of the Michigan Democratic Party and, more vociferously, by the Marquette County Democratic Party. Curtis Hertel, chairman for the Michigan Democratic Party, was concerned about what Cambensy’s candidacy might mean for the race, she said.
“He was worried about former Mayor Duggan and the impact that independents are going to have on Dem races statewide,” Cambensy said. “He also agreed that I could win as an independent, so it became a question of, ‘What’s the problem?'”
The Michigan Democratic Party declined to comment.
Mark Brewer, an attorney for challenger Linda Donckers and a former Michigan Democratic Party chairman, said he will consult with his client about potential future action after the canvassers certified Cambensy for the ballot.
“The board’s decision was disappointing,” Brewer said.
Cambensy — who has worked in recent years for the Michigan Chemistry Council, Michigan House Republicans and the Operating Engineers union — is running in the 38th Senate District, where state Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, is term-limited. Also running for the seat are Republican state Rep. Dave Prestin of Cedar River and Democrat Kelli Van Ginhoven of Escanaba. McBroom won the district in 2022 by nearly 26 percentage points.
But Cambensy argued the Upper Peninsula is the most likely region for an independent to succeed, maintaining northern Michigan voters are disgruntled with the two-party options. She pointed to her support of the Great Lakes Tunnel Project to house Line 5 and said she would have opposed Democratic legislation in 2023 and 2024 that ceded local control over wind and solar energy projects to the state and created a timeline for the state to adopt clean energy policies. The latter policy would sideline new natural-gas powered facilities in the U.P.
“I did get slack from the party when I didn’t vote party line, but I always voted my people and that gained me more respect,” Cambensy said of her time in the House. “I think there’s a core level of people who are very Dem-no-matter-what, blue-no-matter-who. But I think the majority of people up there want someone who’s honest, who’s willing to explain their vote, if it’s not the way they would want it go, and someone who shows up and cares.”
Cambensy is one of four independent candidates running for seats in the state House and Senate this year, about three months after former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan made a failed run as an independent for governor. Philippe Cicchini is running as an independent in the 9th Senate District, Danetta Sampson in the 9th House District and Joe McHugh in the 68th House District.
Candidates from the two major parties running for a Senate seat can either pay $100 or submit 1,000 signatures in order to earn a place on the ballot. But independents have to submit a minimum of 1,500 signatures.
Cambensy said filed 2,349 signatures and, even after some were disqualified, still met the 1,500 signature threshold, the Bureau of Elections found.
Donckers, who challenged Cambensy’s petition, alleged that 1,247 of her signatures should be rejected, in part, because they included signature sheets that Cambensy falsely signed as circulator. Donckers collected three attestations from individuals who signed Cambensy’s sheets who said she was not the circulator.
Cambensy said two of the signers were approached by a friend while Cambensy was about 12 feet away and that Cambensy spoke with both after they signed.
After hearing arguments over the signers Monday, the bipartisan panel of canvassers accepted the Bureau of Election staff recommendation and voted to certify Cambensy for the ballot.
Cambensy argued Monday that Marquette County Democrats have been contacting individuals on her petition to drum up problems with her signatures. She said her petition was “shocking” to the party when they realized how many Democrats had signed in support of the independent.
“These members of the Marquette County Dems start with an angle: How do we get Sara off the ballot? How do we keep Sara of the ballot?” Cambensy said. “And they work their way back from there.”
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Former Democrat certified to run for U.P. Senate seat as independent
Reporting by Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
