Over the weekend, the Michigan GOP held its 26th biennial Mackinac Leadership Conference to introduce their 2006 candidates to party activists and to strategize for the upcoming election. Many Republicans are hopeful that their gubernatorial candidate, wealthy West Michigan native Dick DeVos, will be able to defeat incumbent Democrat Jennifer Granholm. A recent poll revealed that Granholm’s job approval rating has fallen below 50%, suggesting that Granholm may be vulnerable in the 2006 election.

Dick DeVos clearly represents the “elite” segment of Michigan’s population, with his father and Amway (Alticor) founder Richard M. DeVos recently ranked 65th in Forbes’ annual list of the 400 richest people in the United States. Dick DeVos has claimed that he will deliver the “entrepreneurial spirit that the state needs” to improve its economy suggesting that his experiences in business will shape how he governs. As one of the leading donors to the Republican party, DeVos will likely tap into his vast fortune to fund his campaign. Devos’ wife Betsy, a former chairperson of Michigan’s GOP, once told the newspaper Roll Call that:

My family is the largest single contributor of soft money to the national Republican party….I have decided, however, to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence. Now, I simply concede the point. We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues. We expect a return on our investment; we expect a good and honest government. Furthermore, we expect the Republican party to use the money to promote these policies, and yes, to win elections.

Already DeVos’ business connections are causing him problems. Democrats have charged that DeVos laid off Michigan workers while he was president of Alticor (Amway) in order to increase profit by moving production to China. While DeVos has called the debate “a distraction” and “a lie,” Democrats seem committed to pursuing the issue, charging that DeVos’ unwaivering support of free trade has and will cost Michigan numerous jobs.

With Michgan’s unemployment rate in August at 6.7%, 2 percentage points above the national average, jobs and the economy are likely to be the major issue.