Alan Fox (interview
with Matt Ferguson, September, 2005):
AF: The numbers on the Barcia district are almost identical
to the Prusi district in the western U.P. - which is to say that Kerry got 48 ½
%. In 2002, Barcia, who was then a sitting member of the U.S. Congress, was
elected to the seat with 60 ½ %. The one thing that may make that seat
different is that Barcia ran into some legal problems in the situation
involving the Macomb County prosecutor's campaign. At one point Barcia was
indicted, but those charges have been thrown out - he's under no legal
jeopardy, and his argument that it was all a political setup seems to have
been vindicated. But on the other hand, that's the kind of thing that allows
somebody to make an issue of something. So the Republicans may try to do that. Barcia, on the other
hand, has served in the state House, the state Senate, in Congress, now back in
the Senate - for a long, long time. He's a fairly moderate Democrat, he is a
right-to-life Democrat. I don't think he has any serious problems with the NRA.
He doesn't present a very strong target for the Republicans, except on the
question of his indictment, and I think that's likely to be an issue that
doesn't fly in that district. So they may try to take shot at him, but I think
he's likely to survive.
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