By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


In the 47th District State Representative race, former Livingston County Sheriff and Commissioner Bob Bezotte won the Republican nomination.

He held the lead the entire night by about 10-points, with the closest challenger being Livingston County Republican Party Chairwoman Meghan Reckling. Bezotte will face Democrat Adam Smiddy, the former County Veterans Services Director, in November.

Bezotte is a 33-year veteran of law enforcement and was elected to three terms as sheriff. His term on the county board ends December 31st. Bezotte was gracious afterwards in victory. Bezotte tells WHMI they didn’t have the funds available that some of his competitors had but they had a strong campaign strategy. He thanked and congratulated the other three candidates on a strong race. Bezotte said it’s hard to put yourself out there and run a campaign and address some of the issues that are important to Michiganders and across the country, so he’d like to congratulate them on a good race. Bezotte said three were many key parts to the race and he couldn’t have done it without his team and obviously couldn’t have done it without the voters. He promised to work hard and represent the 47th district to the best of his ability and continue the tradition of former State Representatives Joe Hune, Cindy Denby and Hank Vaupel. Bezotte said it was a great night and he’s fortunate to moving on now to the general election. He says some issues of importance include defending law enforcement, veteran suicides, getting small businesses and famers back to work and getting the economy going again. Bezotte says they didn’t have the funds available that some of his competitors had but they had a strong campaign strategy. Bezotte says he believes in running a positive, honest campaign and put his best foot forward, adding he doesn’t play into the political games.