It is my pleasure.  I appreciate the opportunity to communicate with your readership.

One big topic I wanted to discuss with the top recruiter for the House Republican Caucus... what does our field of candidates look like this fall?

Things turned out very well on the filing deadline day.  I think some of the Dems are probably having trouble sleeping following the slate of candidates we have up this year.  In the 200 or so candidates filed as Republicans, we have many pickup opportunities.

If it's OK with you I'd love to go through a couple of the key districts to get your take on specific candidates.  Sort of an introduction, if you will... whether it's your preliminary thoughts, something voters and observers should know, whatever pops to mind...

And since I'm a Grand Rapids guy let me start here in the 75th.  It looks like Robert Dean will face one of three possible candidates.  Dan Tietema has been a candidate here in the area before and is maybe a little bit better known than Mike Burdo and the last name to join the field, T.J. Carnegie.  What should GR voters know about these guys?

I am very excited about the 75th district.  We have people lining up to be the Republican to take on Robert Dean this November.  This kind of interest in a target seat is a great indication of how good our chances are to retake the east side of Grand Rapids.

All three of these guys are working hard already.  All three have strong business backgrounds and deep roots in the community.  Burdo and Tietema are both small businesses owners and Carnegie works in the integrated information technology field, along with being the Catholic Central Varsity Basketball Coach.

These are not politicians.  They are concerned citizens that have had enough of the endless bickering and dismal performance of the state House.

Now down in Jackson County we've got a pair of vulnerable Democrats in Marty Griffin and Mike Simpson.  Leland Prebble is running against Griffin and if Simpson survives a three-way Dem contest he's going to have to go through Ray Snell.

First, what can you tell us about Prebble and Snell, the cliff notes version, and then I'd be curious for your thoughts about the rash of Democrat primary challengers taking on entrenched incumbents!

Prebble is a newcomer to politics.  He has been an entrepreneur his whole life and recently retired from his excavating business.  You can't help but like this guy when you meet him.  And he is working hard.  I think Leland could be the Cinderella story of this election.

Snell is exactly the top tier candidate that we were looking for.  He is the township supervisor of the largest municipality in this legislative district.  And he outperforms the republican base.  He has a great reputation and knows how to win elections.  This is one of the best pick up opportunities in the state.

The Democrats have several contested primaries against their incumbents.  That is a sign of their weakness and the dissatisfaction within their own ranks.

And those intra-party contests seem to have been pretty well avoided by your incumbents...

Our incumbents are doing well by the citizens they represent.  They are working hard representing the people in their districts and that has minimized the intra-party contests.

A couple more quickly... the 91st.  Mary Valentine is running against Holly Hughes.  Now Holly is the Republican National Committeewoman for Michigan and is one of the folks who I know personally and I think she's going to make one heck of a tough opponent for Valentine.  How's that race shaping up from the caucus perspective?

Holly is a superstar!  She knows how to effectively communicate with people and she has a great vision for the future of Michigan.  She will not be outworked and I feel very confident that this seat will be taken back.  She is the very definition of a public servant.  Holly is in this for all the right reasons and I can't wait to serve with her next year.

And one not on the GOP primary list but interesting nonetheless... Andy Dillon is facing three challengers from his own party!  The leader of the Dem caucus.  I always had the vibe that he was a pretty well liked guy in-district.  Do you have a feel on why we're seeing a sudden uprising?

I must say that I am a bit surprised about the size of the Dem primary here.  While I cannot even pretend to be an expert in Redford Township politics, I would not be surprised to see over $1 million spend there this year.

Are there any more names and races we should keep an especially sharp eye on?  Fast climbers or up-and-comers to look out for?

We have so many possibilities to both take out incumbents and pick up open seats.  Hear are some more to watch this year: