Republican Tom Norton told The Michigan Star exclusively Thursday that he intends to run against Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI-03) in the state’s 2022 primary election, just hours after Meijer cast his vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump.
“I have decided to re-launch our campaign for U.S Congress in Michigan’s Third District,” Norton said. “This campaign is not about Trump. This is about the establishment thinking that America is beaten and lost. We need to fight, we need to group together, and never surrender.”
Norton ran against Meijer and three other candidates in the 2020 primary election. The crowded primary was held to fill the seat vacated by former Republican Justin Amash, who changed his party affiliation to Independent and retired amid public spats with Trump.
Norton also railed against the political establishment, and stressed that “Trumpism,” but not Trump himself, is the way forward:
Americans did not get pissed and fight for Trump because he’s Donald Trump. They fought for him because for 30 years, the establishment of both parties said the middle class is done – we are shipping your jobs overseas. The establishment destroyed the real American dream, and left all of us behind. The American dream is not a house, it is not a car – it is the concept that you can go further than your parents and that your children can go further than you. Donald Trump, in four short years, gave that dream back to millions of Americans. He restored their hope. He was not the perfect messenger; in fact, he is quite insulting. However, Trumpism is not about Trump. It is about Americans having the opportunity to excel and reach for the stars. That’s not Trump, that isn’t Trump‘s policies alone. It is the freedom which every generation should be born into and should believe they can accomplish.
Meijer, an heir to the $10 billion Meijer supermarket chain, slammed Trump on CNN Wednesday night, discussing his vote to impeach the President with Wolf Blitzer.
“I was in the House chamber when it was being attacked a week ago today. That was a moment that called for leadership. I was hoping to see the President rapidly try to de-escalate, try to denounce, try to stop the violence from occurring, and he abandoned his post,” Meijer said.
“To me that was disqualifying. My heart broke in that time, seeing folks ransacking the Capitol. And since then, the President has not accepted responsibility,” Meijer continued. “I hold the seat that was held by Gerald Ford for 25 years before he was elevated to the White House. He pardoned Richard Nixon, but that was after Richard Nixon resigned and was held accountable for his actions. And here, there must be accountability.”
Meijer’s office could not be reached for a comment request.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Michigan Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tom Norton” by Tom Norton.
