A new poll in the 80th Michigan House District puts Mary Whiteford of South Haven comfortably in the lead among 8 Republican candidates ahead of the November primary. Whiteford has 31% support, followed by former state Representative Cindy Gamrat with 14% and Allegan County Commissioner Jim Storey with 13%. Gamrat was expelled from the House on September 11 after an investigation found evidence she and former Rep. Todd Courser used state resources to hide their affair. The poll by Target Insyght found 18% of Republicans would cross party lines and vote for the Democrat if Gamrat were to win the Republican primary and 61% would either support another candidate or not vote. The primary is November 3, with the special election set for March.
