11/08/2006

Race tips in Palsrok's favor

By
Record-Eagle staff writer

TRAVERSE CITY — Voters in Mason County appear to have tipped a tight race for the 101st District State Representative seat in favor of incumbent Dave Palsrok.

Republican Palsrok had his largest lead in that county early Wednesday, with 5,717 votes compared to 4,416 for Democratic challenger Dan Scripps. Those figures include 24 of Mason County's 27 districts.

Elsewhere in the four-county district the race was tighter.

In unofficial results, Palsrok won his home territory of Manistee County by just 20 votes, 5,186 to 5,166.

Scripps, of Northport, barely edged Palsrok in his county, Leelanau. In unofficial results, Scripps won 5,932 to 5,885.

In Benzie County, with 11 of 13 precincts reporting, Scripps led 2,956 to 2,931.

In an interview late Tuesday, before most of Mason County's results were in, Palsrok was confident he could pull off the race.

The numbers "look pretty good to me," Palsrok said. "It looks like we'll split Leelanau County, which I anticipated."

Scripps touted taking Leelanau County, a county typically dominated by Republicans. He said if he loses he plans to be back in two years.

"I think in some ways, whoever is elected to serve as state representative, I feel like we won this election," Scripps said. "This was a race that few thought we would be playing in."

At the Elmwood Township Hall, voter turnout appeared to be strong Tuesday evening.

Several voters said they hadn't followed the Palsrok-Scripps race closely and checked the straight-ticket box on the ballot, whether Republican or Democrat.

Deanna Russell said she voted straight Republican, so Palsrok got her vote. But she said she was turned off by the negative attacks on both sides of the race.

"After months of watching it on TV, you get tired of watching all the negative," Russell said. "I think both of them were running kind of negative campaigns against each other."