GOP Snyder’s appeal to independents, Dems could give a leg up over Bernero in Mich. gov’s race

GOP could have leg up in fall Mich. gov’s race

LANSING, Mich. — An Ann Arbor businessman who asked Democrats and independents to help him top a crowded Republican primary field likely heads into Michigan’s fall gubernatorial election with a leg up on the Democratic nominee.

Former Gateway Inc. President Rick Snyder spent $6 million of his own money running ads noting he wasn’t a career politician and promising a different approach to righting the economically troubled state.

Democrat Virg Bernero, mayor of the state capital of Lansing, beat his primary challenger with support from traditional party activists such as unions and abortion rights supporters. That could make it tougher for him to attract independents in the general election.

Some Democrats voted for Snyder, but he also lost votes of Republicans who dislike his support for embryonic stem cell research.