GOP voters select candidate in 8th Congressional District who suspended his campaign last month • Michigan Advance
Republican voters in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District rejected Amir Hassan, the candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump, for the GOP nomination, choosing instead Thomas Smith, even though Smith suspended his campaign on July 16.
The district includes the tri-cities of Saginaw, Midland and Bay City, as well as the Flint area.
The primary, which was officially called by the Associated Press for Smith at 10:47 a.m. Wednesday, was a three-way race between Hassan, a U.S. Navy veteran and former federal law enforcement officer, Smith, a retired General Motors engineer and small business owner, and Al Lemmo, an anti-abortion activist and retired mechanical engineer. When Smith suspended his campaign, he endorsed Lemmo, who has suggested that Hassan is a “trojan horse” candidate and a “lifelong Democrat.”
However, with 99% of the votes counted, Smith was polling 50.4% of the vote, while Hassan had 33.2%, and Lemmo with 16.4%. Despite his decision to suspend his campaign, Smith’s name…