Michigan rep to break term limits pledge

Rep. Dan Benishek (R-Mich.) will run for reelection in 2016, breaking a pledge he made to leave office after three terms.

{mosads}”Serving Northern Michigan has been — and continues to be — a privilege, and it is my sincere hope that the voters of the 1st District will allow me to continue representing them and their families,” he told the Detroit Free Press. “I recognize this conflicts with past statements I made when first running for office.”

Benishek is a doctor who won a GOP-leaning district in 2010 with Tea Party support and won a tough 2012 reelection battle before cruising in 2014. He signed a pledge promising to serve no more than three terms while a candidate in 2010, saying at the time he was “happy to tell voters I strongly favor term limits. Three terms and you’re retired seems about right to me” — and attacking his opponent for disagreeing.

The congressman, who represents Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, says he’s breaking his pledge so he can continue to work on veterans’ issues. He might be a Democratic target next year, though he starts out as the front-runner in the rural, conservative-leaning district.