Watervliet State Rep. Pauline Wendzel has declared victory in her Republican primary race against challenger Jacquie Gnodtke Blackwell tonight.
Wendzel brushed aside the primary challenge from Gnodtke Blackwell to once again secure the Republican nomination and advance to the November General Election. She had previously dominated a 5-way primary in 2018 and out-performed the top of the ticket in the previous November Election.
Wendzel says, “I want to thank my family, my team, and the thousands of Berrien County residents who put their continued faith in me to serve our community,” and adds, “This primary was a good warm-up for the general election. I’ll always be a strong voice for Southwest Michigan, I have the best supporters, and I won’t be outworked.”
In her first term serving Berrien County, Rep. Wendzel says her most significant accomplishment has been delivering on a promise to successfully lower auto insurance rates. Other accomplishments she says are important to the people of Berrien County include:
- Leading the state and nation in bipartisan criminal justice reforms;
- Protecting our great lakes, precious natural resources, and the 1,800 jobs that depend on Southwest Michigan’s sport fishing industry;
- Defending the integrity of our elections;
- Assisting Michigan’s professional license holders by providing a credit on the renewal of their license;
- Opposing the dangerous and reckless policy of defunding local police departments;
- Protecting our most vulnerable residents from the governor’s dangerous nursing home policy; and
- Respecting tax dollars and standing up for small businesses. Michiganders work hard for their money, and they deserve to know Lansing is investing in their priorities and helping them recover from the COVID pandemic.
At her victory celebration, Wendzel says, “We’re going to enjoy this victory tonight, but tomorrow I’m going right back to work doing the job I was elected to do.”
