Ann Arbor-area cardiologist Rob Steele to take on Congressman John Dingell in November
Ann Arbor-area cardiologist Rob Steele will take on veteran U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, in the November general election.
With most precincts reporting, Steele declared victory in the 15th congressional district's Republican primary on Tuesday, picking up 11,726 votes compared to 7,158 for his closest opponent, Jack Lynch, a database systems project manager from Ypsilanti.
The vote counts posted on the state's website include totals from Monroe and Washtenaw counties but do not yet include Wayne County.
The two other candidates were Tony Amorose, a middle school teacher from Dearborn Heights, and Dearborn lawyer Majed Moughni. Amorose picked up 2,031 votes, and Moughni picked up 673.
The 84-year-old Dingell, who received 26,393 votes running unopposed on the Democratic side of the ticket, is the longest-serving member of the U.S. House and was first elected in 1955 to replace his late father.
Dingell was in downtown Ann Arbor Tuesday night, celebrating the reelection of Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje and three Ann Arbor City Council members.
Steele joined his campaign crew at the NCMS Building, 3025 Boardwalk Drive.
“Dingell is a shadow of his former self, and he’s forgotten the needs of his Michigan constituents,” Steele said earlier this month. “He is confusing experience with effectiveness. As Dingell becomes more entrenched as part of the America’s permanent ruling class, he votes more with West Coast elites in Congress like Nancy Pelosi than for legislation to protect Michigan’s economy.”
Steele's campaign posted a victory speech on YouTube, along with the following message from Steele this morning on his website:
"At 11:40 p.m. I was honored and humbled to be able to declare victory thanks to the hard work of scores of volunteers who were assembled for a great celebration that is continuing as I write this," Steele wrote. "I look forward to a fruitful campaign and victory on Nov. 2."
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.
Comments
Porsenna
Sun, Aug 15, 2010 : 12:38 p.m.
The reason to remark on Dingell's age is not to suggest that (however likely it may be) he hasn't the capacity to carry out his duties, but to consider whether a politician who formed his ideas in the 1940's and 50's is really competent to deal with Michigan's difficulties today. He seems to have admitted that there is no solution for Michigan's problems, but isn't this a rather damaging admission from a politician who, doggedly implementing his outmoded ideas, worked steadily to bring the state where it is? For example, he aided the unions against the auto industry until it went elsewhere. Wouldn't it have been preferable to have a healthy Michigan auto industry and no Dingell instead of the other way around? It seems that voters of either party would prefer this.
L. C. Burgundy
Thu, Aug 5, 2010 : 11:52 a.m.
@ThePicker Dingell a career politician? Way understating it. Try a LIFETIME politician. He should have been out of Congress by the time I was born, and I'm not even particularly young! I for one am looking forward to voting for Dr. Steele (again!).
Rex
Thu, Aug 5, 2010 : 12:20 a.m.
To WSC, you saved us all from having to vote in Nov. Glad you figured out that Dingell will win based on #'s from Primary's, BRILLIANT!!! Actually if you check the final #'s all republican primary votes >35,000 to Dingell's unopposed 40,646. Do you really think any of them are going to vote Dingell. Last time I checked more people vote on election day than in the primaries. In Monroe county Steele trailed Dingell by 5500 that the 3 other republicans garnered. WSC, you may find yourself in the minority on election day when Steele takes Dingell's seat.
The Picker
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 7:46 p.m.
Time to end the Dingell Dynasty! The same old tired ideas, past down through the generations. We don't need career politicians, we need real working people who understand the real world not the beltway. I think the the Doctor will serve the citizens and then return to his chosen profession, as all politicians should do.
maallen
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 2:42 p.m.
I am tired of hearing the lies that Mr. Dingell is for the people of Michigan and how he puts his constituents first. How does one explain this: Since 1957 Mr. Dingell has been pushing his healthcare agenda. Every year since 1957 he has submitted legislation on it. Hmmmm....he's for his constituents? They were wanting this back in 1957 and every year since? And really, why do women want to vote for him when he says things like this on WJR: "Being a woman will no longer be a pre-existing condition." You gotta be kidding me, right? And then he says this about Michigan: "Well, Michigan people will tell you there is not enough being done and, quite honestly, it is pretty hard to see how anything could be done to cure the problems we have in Michigan." This is the guy that represents us? This is the guy we want to re-elect? I think not. He is so far out of touch with the rest of us here in Michigan. He doesn't know what it's like to have a job here in Michigan. All he can do is pass legislation telling others on how to do their job. Is that what we want?
Jay Allen
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 2:32 p.m.
@tommy basil: "I don't understand why anyone is against Mr. Dingell, unless you're a self hating Michigander." 1. Affordable Health Care for all 2. Endangered Species Act 3. Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) 4. Clean Air Act of 1990 5. Mammography Quality Standards Act. 1. This is/was obama's baby. 2. Of 1973. Really? Or one of the 3 Amendments, the latest being 1982? 3. From 1993 with Hillary leading the way. 4. ok, 1990. 5. From the early 1990's? This one I do not remember and cannot find his stance on it. Thus, to answer your question, the quote from Dr. Steele is appropriate. "Dingell is a shadow of his former self, and hes forgotten the needs of his Michigan constituents,. While scrolling the net, I found this interesting: -Voted YES on federal crime to harm fetus while committing other crimes. (Apr 2001) Then -Voted NO on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004) ***I am NOT AT ALL bringing up abortion, so do not go there. What I am bringing up is flip flopping on an issue. I guess he and John Kerry are buddies.
L. C. Burgundy
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 2:14 p.m.
--- I don't understand why anyone is against Mr. Dingell, unless you're a self hating Michigander. --- Well, given that Mr. Dingell is the person going on TV and saying that he thinks Michigan's present situation is hopeless and there is nothing that can really be done for it, I think we all know who the actual self-hating, defeatist Michigander is. --- Some of Dingell's Accomplishments: Affordable Health Care for all Endangered Species Act Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Clean Air Act of 1990 Mammography Quality Standards Act. --- Wow, 1990! And affordable health care for all? The check is still years on waiting to clear on that claim, and given how it polled in Missouri yesterday, I'm not sure how high Mr. Dingell would want to put that on his resume anymore. --- Dr. Steele is a cardiologist, and he may be a good one, either way he's not a family physician but one of the highest paid practitioners in the medical field, not a man of the people like he claims to be. --- And Dingell is? Surely you jest. He's spent the last half century in DC. Even Obama is more "of the people" than he is. --- Looking at his website, he has no actual opinions expect that he is against old people and incumbents (Again, think replacing Lidstrom with Snooki) ---- "Against old people" would be a mighty strange opinion from a cardiologist, wouldn't you agree? ---- In fact, on his website, click on the "issues" tab and there are only 4 things he has opinions on. Maybe someone should tell him the US congress deals with a lot more than that. ---- Translation: "Crap, a commonsense medical professional with clearly stated positions with no wackadoo socially conservative views I can poke at." Mr. Dingell has been in Congress way, way too long, a shell of who he was, stripped of his committee chairmanship and with dwindling influence. Like too many other representatives and Senators from Michigan, Dingell is there first and foremost for himself and his conscience, as he will readily acknowledge. Rob Steele is the first candidate in a long time to pose a credible challenge to him. I think it's long past time that the "Dingell seat" be retired.
Joe Hood
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 1:22 p.m.
I expected Dingell's wife to take over this time. I'm surprised he's going for another term, especially how the House leadership yanked out his Energy committee chairmanship. Seemed like the time was ripe to retire, he finally got the legislation he wanted passed, his party is in the majority. Come fall, it'll likely be a whole new ball game.
tommybasil
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 1:12 p.m.
I don't understand why anyone is against Mr. Dingell, unless you're a self hating Michigander. We have a powerful well respected man in congress who is listened to by both parties and has done a huge amount to help south east michigan (see below for a list), and suddenly a group wants to get rid of him? It's basically like the Red Wings deciding to get rid of Lidstrom and replace him with Snooki. Dr. Steele is a cardiologist, and he may be a good one, either way he's not a family physician but one of the highest paid practitioners in the medical field, not a man of the people like he claims to be. Looking at his website, he has no actual opinions expect that he is against old people and incumbents (Again, think replacing Lidstrom with Snooki). In fact, on his website, click on the "issues" tab and there are only 4 things he has opinions on. Maybe someone should tell him the US congress deals with a lot more than that. Michigan needs well respected people in office. We got rid of Cheeks-Kilpatrick, that'll help, and now we need to keep Dingell. We need people who will keep jobs in Michigan, who have a good relationship with the auto industry, who can persuade congress to continue funding projects in Michigan. I am not a Democrat, but an advocate for the state of Michigan, so I urge you all to vote for Dingell. Some of Dingell's Accomplishments: Affordable Health Care for all Endangered Species Act Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Clean Air Act of 1990 Mammography Quality Standards Act.
Ray D. Aider
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 12:48 p.m.
Also noteworthy, I suppose, concerning the Gubernatorial race, there were 1,044,523 total Republican votes, and 527,202 Democratic votes. This could change in November, I realize, because a lot of people don't think it's worth their time to vote in the Primaries. I apologize the double posting previously....I thought the first one was being rejected because of the html link...which is apparently not the case. @TheAnnouncerMan007Thanks for the compliment on my 'alias. It works for me.
Jay Allen
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 12:11 p.m.
***Edit on above: I failed to remove "not last" from the end. I even READ what I write.......LOL
Jay Allen
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 12:05 p.m.
Ray D. Aider (which is a VERY cool name to any car buff), but the comments from WSC are only the beginning of the silliness we are about to see & read. His thinking is, no more republicans -OR- democrats are going to show up at the election? The race started not last, not ended. More Ross Perot fuzzy math just like the profit crap from yesterday. Congratulations Dr. Steele.
Ray D. Aider
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 11:51 a.m.
"So, how do figure the challenger is going to win? Given the existing math, all Repub votes cast equal 21,588. All Dem votes, for a candidate with no Dem opponent, added up to 26,393." I'm not sure where these figures are coming from, but according to the official results, there were 36,164 total Republican votes spread out over 4 candidates. Please correct me if this is inaccurate.
Ray D. Aider
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 11:42 a.m.
"So, how do figure the challenger is going to win? Given the existing math, all Repub votes cast equal 21,588. All Dem votes, for a candidate with no Dem opponent, added up to 26,393." I'm not really clear on where these numbers come from but according to official 15th district US House results, there were a total of 36,164 Republican votes cast; spread out over 4 candidates. http://elections.nytimes.com/2010/house/michigan/15 Please correct me if this is not accurate. Am I not aware of something?
Hot Sam
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 10:47 a.m.
Dr. Steele is an excellent candidate...worthy of bi-partisan consideration, and it is past time for Mr. Dingle to enjoy the grand-kids...
maallen
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 9:48 a.m.
Congrats to Mr. Rob Steele for winning the primary. Now, the real test comes. Dingell does not serve his constituents. A quote from Mr. Dingell himself "The congress is a place where we represent our people and where we serve our conscience." He is more interested in his own conscience than what his constituents. Here is what Mr. Dingell said about the energy legislation on C-Span "I sincerely doubt that the American people are willing to pay what this is really going to cost them. I will be intorducing in the next little bit a carbon tax bill, just to sort of see how people really feel about this." And how can we forget about what Mr. Dingell said on March 23, 2010 right after ObamaCare was passed "The harsh fact of the matter is when you're going to pass legislation that will cover 300 (million) American people in different ways it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation together to control the people." Or how about this from Dingell in an article July 2nd from Bloomberg news: "On the economy, Dingell said Congress is too concerned with curbing the growth of the government's deficit and not enought with avoiding another recession." Dingell has been in Washington for 55 years. He's out of touch with Michigan. Who do you think he represents? It's time to vote Dingell out of office.
schultz2005
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 9:29 a.m.
I was a democrat who cross over. Gosh, I hope Dingell does not get re-elected. He is old!! I do not feel he done anything for his people. Hope for Mr. Snyder and Dr. Steele. Thanks.
Inside MI GOP
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 9:12 a.m.
I and others have asked Dingell when he will show up for the debate, "anywhere, anyone, anytime" as he said on WJR in April. His response now is that he does not have the time. Regardless of their philosophical differences, I think my Ann Arbor neighbors who don't let their liberal elitism get in the way of their God given intellectual abilities, would actually find a lot in common with Steele's intellectual agility, local community values and his affable way of communicating policy positions. At every Steele event I have attended, a significant portion of the people there, will be those who tell a version of how Dr Rob, saved their life or at the very least their quality of life. Of further comfort to liberals and discomfort to elite bigotry is that this guy genuinely likes people. You can tell why he became a cartiologist - he wants to be involved with saving, lengthening and improving the quality of people's lives. That he has been extremely successful in doing this is in large part evidenced by his attitude of gratefulness for the opportunity to have been involved in that part of peoples lives and his infectious zest for life. Bottom line is that he is an attractive candidate for a number of reasons and has and is getting a significant amount of national media coverage. That he is from and reflects "21st century Ann Arbor" rather than "20th century Dearborn" should be a feather in the cap for Washtenaw County/Ann Arbor if they can just get past the bigotry of liberal elitism.
WSC
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 9:02 a.m.
So, how do figure the challenger is going to win? Given the existing math, all Repub votes cast equal 21,588. All Dem votes, for a candidate with no Dem opponent, added up to 26,393. The math alone says the Repub challenger loses. You can trash Dingell all you want (either subjectively or without proof) but I've talked to the man on many occasions over the years. To this day he is neither incoherent nor senile, but aware, sharp and concerned about all his constituents. No amount of wishing on your parts will make that untrue.
stunhsif
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 8:22 a.m.
Bye Bye Mr. Dingell it is time for you to go. Come November, there may actually be some hope and change coming back to Michigan!
Silly Sally
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 8 a.m.
Someone asked Mr. Dingell why he didn't support increasing the number of medical schools to increase the number of doctors, both to alleviate the shortage of doctors and to lower the price that they can charge (supply and demand). His reply was, "That will take too long, we need something NOW". What he meant is that he is only looking short-term, since he knows that he will not be in office 4 or 6 years from now, as new doctors would begin to enter the workforce. He only has his short-term interests at heart, not his constituents long-term interests.
Top Cat
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 7:33 a.m.
I heard Mr. Dingell give a speech last December and he was barely coherent. I think his wife is propping him up. He is a poster child for term limits. Funny things are going to happen on November 2.
outdoor6709
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 6:53 a.m.
If you do not belive John Dingell is only out for himself, why was he in Ann Arbor Tuesday night?
outdoor6709
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 6:51 a.m.
Dingell needs to go because over the years getting reelected was more important to him than Michigan issues. On issue after issue he voted for policies that caused Michigan jobs to go away. Even then he lost his chairmanship when the leadership wanted to put someone even farther out of the mainstream in the post. Dingell no longer fights for us, do the responsible thing and vote him out.
stan
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 : 6:07 a.m.
I hope Steele wins, but I really don't see that happening.