A state Senator is entering the Republican race for governor.
Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton) hopes to succeed term-limited Governor Rick Snyder. He will formally announce his campaign Saturday at noon, at the Yankee Air Museum near Ypsilanti.
Colbeck was a design engineer for Boeing before he became a senator in in 2011.
“I came in with a fresh perspective, a business perspective,” he said. “And with the simple perspective says, ‘What I say I’m gonna do on the campaign trail is exactly what I’m gonna do when I’m serving.’”
Governor Rick Snyder is term limited. Both are Republicans, but have their differences. The governor has vetoed two of Colbeck’s bills this year. Colbeck also voted against the Medicaid expansion supported by Snyder.
Colbeck’s conservative voting record has also put him up against some Republican leadership in the past.
“Definitely want to think on the behalf of all the citizens of Michigan,” Colbeck said. “Not just the folks in Lansing. There’s a lot of cocktail lounge circuits if you know what I mean.”
Overall, Colbeck considers himself an outside with “an insider’s knowledge.”
It’s widely expected state Attorney General Bill Schuette and Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley will join the race.
Dr. Jim Hines of Saginaw was the first candidate to turn in the necessary signatures to get on the primary ballot for governor.