Schuette Picks Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons as Running Mate
Schuette and Lyons join Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson.
Attorney General Bill Schuette has chosen Lisa Posthumus Lyons as his running mate for the November election.
Schuette is the Republican nominee for governor – he won about 50 percent of his party’s vote in the primary. If Schuette is successful in the general election, Lyons will be the state’s next lieutenant governor.
Lyons is the current Kent County Clerk and former state Representative. While in the state Legislature, Lyons served as chair of the House Education Committee and House Elections and Ethics Committee. She was also an assistant majority floor leader.
“Lisa Posthumus Lyons, is – she’s smart, she’s articulate, experienced, has a great record on education and knows how to get things done in the Legislature,” said Schuette during Wednesday’s announcement in Grand Rapids.
Schuette and Lyons both join Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about the selection and their ticket. Click on the audio player above to hear the conversation.
Schuette is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump – and spent part of the primary accusing fellow candidates of not supporting the president enough. But Lyons pulled her support of the president during the 2016 election, saying Trump had not earned her respect or her vote. Now, Lyons says she supports Trump and his policies.
“These are accomplishments that I support, and they’re accomplishments that America will support,” she told reporters after the announcement Wednesday.
Lyons continued to dodge similar questions Thursday morning on Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson, including when asked whether or not she voted for Trump in the 2016 election.
“I support the president and his policies,” Lyons responded.
Schuette said Wednesday that Lyons brings a wealth of experience to the ticket.
“She comes from a family who has a history of service, which I admire greatly,” he said.
That family includes her father, Dick Posthumus – himself a former lieutenant governor and Gov. Rick Snyder’s current chief of staff. Snyder has yet to endorse Schuette after a contentious race with Snyder’s own lieutenant governor, Brian Calley. But Schuette says that didn’t play into his decision.
“This is about the qualifications of a person named Lisa Posthumus Lyons and she’s eminently qualified,” he said.
Schuette had hinted that his running mate would be a woman. The top of the Democratic ticket will likely be almost entirely female – with women expected to be chosen as the party’s attorney general and secretary of state candidates at a convention next week.
Democratic candidate for governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has yet to announce her running mate.
On Detroit Today, Stephen Henderson also speaks with Chad Livengood, senior reporter with Crain’s Detroit Business, about the selection and what Lyons brings to the ticket.
