Reply #24: Yes they lost...

[blue_onyx]

in part because the top of ticket was dragging down Democratic support. If Bernero had inspired more Democrats to show up to the polls, Benson and Leyton would've done better too. One of Brewer's mistakes was not shifting money from Bernero to Benson. In early October, it was clear Snyder would win and the MDP should have focused on races that were more winnable. If Benson had a little more money and had been on the air a week or so sooner, she probably would've won.

There were numerous people mentioned as possibilities that would have been stronger: Dan Kildee, John Cherry, Dennis Archer, Jim Blanchard, and Debbie Stabenow. Hell...even Gov, Granholm would've done better if she weren't term-limited. Bernero did about the same as Geoffrey Fieger (who got 38%) which shows how weak of a candidate he was.