DETROIT – Thaddeus McCotter's resignation from Michigan's 11th Congressional District seat forced the necessity to fill his seat for the rest of this year.
The special primary election, which occurs Wednesday, pits five Republican hopefuls against one Democrat. The Republicans include Steve King, of Livonia, Kerry Bentivolio, of Milford, former state senator Nancy Cassis, of Novi, Kenneth Crider and Carolyn Kavanagh, both also of Livonia.
The lone Democrat is United Auto Workers international representative David A. Curson.
The most troubling thing about this election is the cost which the state of Michigan estimates at $650,000.
"I think he looked at other things, rather than saving," said Cassis. "So that we could save the money and I do believe since the governor called it that the state should pay for it, not put the burden back on local communities."
On Tuesday, in Novi, voting booths were up as absentee voters were allowed to come in and cast their ballots at the cost of roughly $35,000. One of them was Dexter Gotson, of Novi, who decided no matter the cost, he wanted to make certain the district had someone in Washington.
"We just want to make sure that we give everybody a chance to participate, and there are so many issues out there that affect us we want our voice to be heard," said Gotson.
Curson said he is disappointed the election has to happen. He said the Republican party could have decided on one candidate and prevented the cost.
Gov. Rick Snyder does not want the state to pick up that cost.