Mitt Romney Following in the Footsteps of Ronald Reagan

I was asked, by a friend from Tennessee, if I thought Mitt Romney would attempt to become the Governor of Michigan. I thought it was a very good question, of course my response is just conjecture. However, this rumor of Romney running for Michigan Governor can be laid to rest quite quickly by referring to the Michigan Election Laws.

MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW (EXCERPT)
Act 116 of 1954
168.51 Governor or lieutenant governor; eligibility; violation of §38.412a.

Sec. 51.

A person shall not be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant governor unless the person has attained the age of 30 years and has been a registered and qualified elector in this state for 4 years next preceding his or her election, as provided in section 22 of article 5 of the state constitution of 1963. A person who has been convicted of a violation of section 12a(1) of Act No. 370 of the Public Acts of 1941, being section 38.412a of the Michigan Compiled Laws, shall not be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant governor for a period of 20 years after the conviction.

Michigan, like most states, has requirements for governors. In this case, they must be at least 30 years old and have been a registered and qualified elector (that means attained residence in the state which can take a year or two) for four years before they run for office.

In the case of Mitt Romney, the Presidential race of 2012 would just arrive when Romney would be able to run for governor of Michigan. I do not see this as a smart move for Mitt Romney.

However, I think we are going to see a lot of Mitt Romney nationally over the next four years. In the Washington Times is an interesting article titled, "Right Wants Romney as Standard-Bearer".

While John McCain was speaking to CPAC and getting the cold shoulder, Mitt Romney who had already addressed the group was now huddled with about 50 conservative leaders discussing how to preserve conservative principles "lowering taxes, limited government and free speech".

The article went on, "The purpose of the meeting was for him to announce his willingness to fight shoulder to shoulder with true conservatives from here on out," said political strategist Paul Erickson, who worked for Mr. Romney"s campaign. "He did just that."

The head of the American Conservative Union expressed surprise and enthusiasm for Mitt Romney leading out on conservative issues. Keene said, "If someone had suggested a year ago and a half ago that we would be welcoming Mitt Romney as a potential leader of the conservative movement, no one would have believed it, but over the last year and a half, he has convinced us he is one of us and walks with us."

I foresee a strong conservative place for Mitt Romney over the coming years.