By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
Michigan voters will go to the polls Tuesday, Aug. 7, with several local primary races on the ballot, among them is the Republican nomination for 26th District State Senate seat currently held by Sen. Tonya Shuitmaker, who is facing term limits. The district includes the City of Kentwood. WKTV has what you need to know about the three-way race between, in alphabetic order, Bob Genetski, Aric Nesbitt and Don Wickstra.
Genetski served the Michigan House of Representatives from 2009 through 2014, when he was elected as Allegan County Clerk. He has a bachelors degree from Auburn University and a masters in education from Grand Valley State University. He and his family live in Saugatuck. Genetski is both a one-time public school teacher and was named one of the Michigan House’s most conservative elected officials.
Nesbitt describes himself as a public servant, having served three terms as a state representative before, most recently, as a member of Gov. Rick Snyder’s cabinet, serving as the lottery commissioner. He earned a B.A. in Economics from Hillsdale College and a Masters in International Business from Norwegian School of Economics. He lives near Lawton with his wife, Trisha, down the road from his family’s farm.
Wickstra, an Hamilton dentist and political novice, is a graduate of Hope College and Loyola University Dental School, and he and his wife Lynn are grandparents who have been married for 42 years. Outside of being the chairman of the Heath Township Planning Commission, he admits to being, quote, “a name you probably haven’t read in news stories.”
To view Genetski’s WKTV-produced We The People video, visit here.
To view Nesbitt’s WKTV-produced We The People video, visit here.
To view Wickstra’s WKTV-produced We The People video, visit here.
To view Genetski’s WKTV Journal: In Focus interview, visit here.
To view Nesbitt’s WKTV Journal: In Focus interview, visit here.
To view Wickstra’s WKTV Journal: In Focus interview, visit here.
To view the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce’s candidate forum for this race, visit here.
For more information on Genetski, visit his website here.
For more information on Nesbitt, visit his website here.
For more information on Wickstra, visit his website here.
