Incumbents Eisen, Beeler relying on House records, differing backgrounds in new 64th District primary

Three Republican candidates, including two sitting incumbents and a returning election challenger, will face off in this summer’s primary for the new 64th District seat in the state House.

It’s a circumstance state Reps. Gary Eisen and Andrew Beeler have acknowledged means one of them will be elected out of office Aug. 2

But each said they’re relying on their records in Lansing and differing backgrounds to help stand out, hoping to serve those in a redrawn, more condensed district that’s a little less rural than that of the boundaries they currently represent.

They face John Mahaney, who’s run for state representative before, while Fort Gratiot resident Charles Howell is the lone Democrat on the primary ballot.

Mahaney, who lives in Port Huron Township, was one of the 2018 Republicans and returned to challenge Eisen in 2020. He said he understood he faced "definitely an uphill struggle" in facing the more-established Beeler and Eison.

"I know I have a lot less chance. But I’m hoping people may be tired of the incumbents, the politicians of not getting anything done. It’s better to try and fail than not try at all," Mahaney said. "I consider your word is all you have. I do not tell someone what I do not mean.”

Beeler said he hoped to stand out in a similar way that he did in 2020.

“I was running on my background, my skillset, my experiences, and I think that that's my plan this time, as well,” Beeler, who’s in his first term, said in an interview last week. “I think that what I'm bringing to the table is the experiences that I had in leadership in the Navy and as a conservative leader being needed here in Lansing. … That's what I've done over the last two years.”

Beeler, a Port Huron Republican, currently represents the city, as well as Fort Gratiot, Burtchville and all of Sanilac County in the 83rd District, while Eisen, of St. Clair Township, represents a bigger geographic area in the 81st, looping south and west across St. Clair County.

Now, the candidates are toggling for the 64th, which covers Fort Gratiot, Marysville, and Port Huron, as well as Burtchville, Clyde, Grant, Kimball, Port Huron, and St. Clair townships in St. Clair County, and Worth Township in Sanilac County.

Eisen is serving his second term after first coming out on top among eight Republicans in a primary in 2018.

He said he thinks his work skills and that he’s run his own business helps give him a niche know-how as a lawmaker. He also believes he is among the few over 65, adding, “It’s nice to have at least a couple guys over here that are sticking up for senior citizens.”

Two incumbents on separate conservative paths, a challenger looking for change

When asked, Beeler pointed to three things as priorities he hoped to continue to focus on in Lansing: Taxes, education, and election integrity.

The Port Huron Republican chairs a taxpayer protection caucus, which he announced formation of in 2021, reiterating his priority not to raise taxes but also to cut to “give money back.”

“We've passed several tax cuts, unfortunately, none of which have been signed into law yet. But I think that's part of the process is working through what can we get through the House, what can we get to the Senate, and ultimately, hopefully, what the governor will sign,” he said.

Beeler has targeted alleged race and gender stereotyping in classrooms with anti-Critical Race Theory legislation — a bill, he said, “was born from conversations with constituents” and passed the House but hasn’t been discussed in the state Senate.

Eisen referenced his commitment to Second Amendment issues and working to help those in skilled trades and small businesses.

He’s introduced multiple firearms-related bills to the legislature and played a larger role in a Second Amendment sanctuary movement two years ago in St. Clair County.

Eisen was also named to a bi-partisan school safety taskforce announced at the start of 2022. He talked about the potential role he could play there in an interview Wednesday — just one day after the shooting at the Uvalde, Texas elementary school that left 19 children and two adults dead.

“We’re putting together a big bill package to address some of those (concerns),” he said. However, he said he didn’t think racking up new gun laws would be the solution.

“We don’t need anymore,” Eisen said of gun laws. “… Everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon when there’s a crisis and say what am I doing for it.  I rather sit back and watch and see what actually would benefit instead of just rushing to judgment.”

In the same vein, Eisen hoped his “tendency to ask difficult questions” could play a role, though he acknowledged how he’s run into challenges in the past over contentious topics — namely when controversial radio comments in late 2020 led to his temporary removal from committee assignments by GOP leadership.

“I’m not part of the cool kids over here, I’ll tell you that much,” he said.

Eisen is currently vice chairman of the House transportation committee and serves on several others.

When asked, Mahaney said he didn't think the incumbents had done enough to combat the governor's emergency powers during the pandemic, adding, “It sounds more like they were afraid to do anything, and therefore, she could take the blame for it. While I’m not a supporter of hers, if you think you’re in the right, you act. You don’t try to play it safe.”

And while he didn't address Beeler's record, he pointed to his past opponent in Eisen and said he wanted to better live up to more conservative promises and end the challenges that come with a Republican legislature producing bills a Democratic chief won't pass.

Mahaney's examples of priorities included things like updating a list of approved materials for roads, as well as the bridge formula that sets weight limits for trucks. He also said he was glad that Roe vs. Wade appeared to be more "settled" as an issue, citing himself as pro-life, and that he wanted to review the state budget to redirect money into education, roads, and trade schools, though he didn't say how.

“I have many ideas — way too many to list here with you, but I know when I get in there, I’m going to plan to (address them all)," Mahaney said. "I don’t run a business, I drive a trash truck. When I leave, this is going to be my job, and I plan on putting 40, 50, and 60 hours a week into the job. When I’m not in session. I’m going to be working in my office many hours a day.”

On election concerns, Beeler did not get too specific on the impetus coming out of the 2020 presidential election. But he said, “There are some very, I would say, low-hanging fruit, very reasonable changes that we can make to ensure that every voter has confidence in the election.”

He also called back the reins he picked up from his 83rd District predecessor Shane Hernandez in working to find ways to help those dealing with an addiction, particularly through finding applicable funding.

“To me, our (recovery community organizations) are a beautiful, non-governmental solution that already exists and all the state needs to do is get out of the way and let them do their job,” Beeler said. “That’s a fight that I’ve been proud to (assist with during) my first term and probably the item that I’m most excited to continue working on.”

Democrat looking to be voice of the opposition

Charles Howell was born in Indiana but grew up in a small town in Wisconsin.

After his getting his undergraduate degree, he went to Japan to teach with what he hoped would help pay tuition for graduate school. Instead, he stayed — surpassing the original three-year program and starting a family and his own business — before returning to the U.S. nearly two decades later.

Now, he works as business process specialist for a Port Huron area company that works closely with the automotive industry.

When asked why he wanted to run for office, he cited the need for a dissenting Democratic voice.

“Especially with so many things coming out like that leak from the Supreme Court,” Howell said, referencing the draft opinion leaked by Politico signaling a reversal in abortion access laws across the country. “The other thing I would say is … I’m moderate and I used to be much more conservative. And I would probably still be Republican if the party didn’t seem so hateful. One thing I would like to see us return to is actual discourse and discussion.”

Howell said there were some things that were priorities to better support small businesses and individual liberties that he thought, in some ways, would “cross party lines.”

Like Beeler,  for example, he wanted to address needs in the addiction recovery, adding he noticed he lived in a “recovery-centered community.”

But he added, "What’s confusing about that is with this whole Roe vs. Wade thing, I don’t understand how somebody can say that all life is sacred, so that transcends liberties, but I have a right to own a gun whose entire purpose is to take life. ... I find it odd that the Republican party is so in favor of individual rights but only in certain circumstances.”

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Eisen, Beeler relying on House records, differing backgrounds in 64th primary