Opponent attacks Hoekstra as similar to Stabenow

Charter school magnate Clark Durant is trying to chip away at Pete Hoekstra’s massive lead in the race to take on Sen. Debbie Stabenow by comparing his primary opponent to the woman they want to replace.
The Grand Rapids Press reports:

Speaking to reporters at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, Durant referred to the Holland Republican as a “partner” of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the two-term Democratic incumbent they hope to face in 2012…

“I think they have more similarities than people are aware of,” Durant said.

Hoekstra lost the right to call himself a conservative when he voted in favor of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and voted several times to raise the national debt ceiling, Durant told an impromptu press conference on the porch the Grand Hotel.

A poll last week found that Hoekstra had 51 percent support for his candidacy among Republicans, with Durant a distant second at three percent.