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"Accidental congressman" is an unhelpful label for a U.S. House member facing political challengers from both parties.
Yet that's how a suburban Republican sees himself cast today in the first sentence and headline of a lengthy 2014 campaign preview by Todd Spangler of the Free Press' Washington bureau. "Accidental congressman Kerry Bentivolio faces fight to keep 11th District seat," says the head.
The incumbent raised about $165,000 and had just $39,000 left in his campaign fund Sept. 30.
Spangler reports on a political drama drawing interest beyond Metro Detroit:
Bentivolio, a Milford Republican, finds himself challenged in his own party, with key establishment Republicans already arrayed against him, and Democrats relishing their chances of winning what by all accounts should be a safe Republican seat.
Bentivolio’s fund-raising has lagged that of his wealthy Republican rival, Birmingham lawyer Dave Trott, despite help from U.S. House leaders. A central member of his insurgent campaign of a year ago bolted for Trott’s. And with Washington’s Roll Call placing Bentivolio among the 10 most vulnerable members of Congress, some political observers say the race in Michigan’s 11th District may draw national attention and become a donnybrook.
The feisty congressman acknowledges vulnerability and wears his outsider status as a shiny badge:
“They don’t see me as an establishment Republican,” Bentivolio said of his opponents, “because I guess I should have gone to them and asked, ‘Can I have permission to run for Congress?’ . . .
"They have to come up with something to throw mud. . . . I’m a Vietnam veteran. I’m used to abuse.”
Birmingham attorney Dave Trott wants to knock off Bentivolio in the Republican primary next August.
Spangler explains the tea party-supported politician's "accidental congressman" tag:
He won [in November 2012] only after U.S. Rep. Thad McCotter resigned over a scandal involving fraudulent re-election petition signatures.
Now, though, "his fund-raising efforts have been slow to develop," according to the nearly 1,500-word Free Press report.
At a recent meeting of a group calling itself the Wayne County Campaign for Liberty, Bentivolio said . . . he’s having a hard time raising money “because these people that want this seat are telling everybody not to donate to my campaign.” During the speech, he acknowledged, “I may not be here after November of next year” unless he finds a wider pool of backers. . . .
As of Sept. 30, Bentivolio had raised about $165,000 toward next year’s election and had just $39,000 left in the bank. Trott, in one three-month period, raised $650,000 — $200,000 out of his own pocket — and had $450,000 left.
