To the editor:

Rep. Jack Bergman has just ended any hope Republicans had of beating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Since Bergman dropped his endorsement of gubernatorial hopeful, Chief James Craig and endorsed Perry Johnson, he has ensured Whitmer of her second term in office all because his feelings were hurt.

In a statement, quoted in the Detroit News, Bergman said Craig had ignored “campaigning in Northern Michigan and the U.P. in favor of a self-proclaimed Detroit-centric approach.”

That statement is 100% untrue. Chief Craig started campaigning in the Upper Peninsula five months before Johnson even announced his candidacy. I was at the town hall meeting at Zellars where Bergman gave a glowing endorsement of the chief, who has been a super-presence in Detroit and Wayne County as Chief of Police, with admirable results in the war-torn city.

Perry Johnson spent a whopping four days campaigning in northern Michigan at pizza and doughnut shops, fast food restaurants and small cafes. He has not set foot in the Upper Peninsula, the very district Bergman represents. The spin doctors of Bergman’s campaign stated “Perry is all over the main U.P. markets.”

If radio ads and social media were the measure of campaigning, then I’d be considered a candidate too if I bought some time on WNBY.

Within hours of Bergman’s statement, the Whitmer campaign and the democrat party was given an unprecedented amount of political ammunition that they are using with fervor. Of all the Republican candidates in the history of Michigan politics, Chief Craig was poised to carry the crucial Wayne County vote in the election.  

I highly doubt the residents of Detroit and Wayne County are going to support a white, millionaire candidate, like Perry Johnson, who is self-funding most of his campaign. This also sabotages any hope the Republicans had in the race for Attorney General, so we can kiss Line 5 goodbye also.

It’s clear the 74-year-old Perry Johnson will now get the nomination from the Republican Party in August thanks to Jack Bergman. In the unlikely event Johnson gets elected Governor, he would be 75 or 76 when taking office.

Craig’s campaign stated: “We are proud of our work in the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan. We made at least six appearances in northern Michigan when we announced our campaign, including no less than four appearances in the Upper Peninsula. We will continue to take our message across this great state of Michigan, including northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.”

For someone who is dubbed “the General,” it is astounding to me that Bergman would provide aide to enemy like he has. For reasons unknown, he put feelings above the party or maybe something else happened when he met with the millionaire at the recent “Michigan Republican Party delegate’s conference,” in Grand Rapids.

I’ve been a conservative Republican all my life and my party loyalty will never shift to the Democrats. But as of today, I am no fan of Jack Bergman.

While I respect his military record, Bergman should be stripped of his stripes. This blunder should haunt you Jack. It’ll sure haunt Michigan Republicans for the next four years.