Schmidt edges past Goei in 76th

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - As tallying progressed in the primary election, State Rep. Roy Schmidt, who switched to the GOP at the filing deadline, finally outpaced Republican write-in candidate Bing Goei.

Early results appeared to show Goei with a commanding lead. 

At midnight, the two were nearly tied and Goei had only a 15-vote lead.

But as absentee ballots started to be counted, Schmidt edged back into the lead. With 97% of precincts reporting, Schmidt had 58% of the vote while Goei had 42%.

Around 12:30 a.m., it appeared Schmidt would win the race by about a 14% margin -- but absentee ballots were still being counted.

Until Schmidt changed his party affiliation to become a Republican, the race for the 76th House seat on the west side of Grand Rapids was not on anyone's radar.

But with Schmidt running for re-election as a member of the GOP, two write-in candidates -- one each from the Democrats and Republicans -- brought voters to the polls.

City Clerk Lauri Parks told 24 Hour News 8 about 75% of all the votes cast in the city on primary day were clustered in the 76th District.

Around 10 p.m., Schmidt told 24 Hour News 8 he hopes "that voters look at my 20-year record of serving Grand Rapids," while acknowledging this is "a big night" for his career.

He went on to say at 11 p.m. that it would be a long night and that the outcome of the race was "in the hand of the voters."

Schmidt reiterated that he would be happy to live with whatever decision voters made.

He also noted that a final ruling on the election won't be made until all absentee ballots are counted, which won't be until sometime Wednesday.

Goei said around 10 p.m. that "the odds are pretty long for me to win, but I think we still have a chance."

Goei said later in the evening that he was "humbled" that voters had taken the time to write him in in what he called the "people's election." He said that shows voters are "fed up" with "dirty politics and corrupt politicians."

He said media coverage of the Schmidt scandal allowed voters to understand the seriousness of the situation.

Besides Goei, the other write-in is Democrat Winnie Brinks.

Brinks mounted a longer write-in campaign than Goei. Around 10:30 p.m., she had nearly 1300 votes. To make the November ballot, she'll need to get a certain percentage of the vote of the largest vote-getter in the district. Official results may not be known for a day or so.

The Michigan House Democrats said around 10:45 p.m. that Brinks had qualified for the November ballot with over 2,500 votes.

She told 24 Hour News 8 she's prepared to "gear up and get ready for the November election" regardless of who her opponent was.

24 Hour News 8 Political Reporter Rick Albin that the election is remarkable -- and even more so because of the short time Goei had to mount a campaign.

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24 Hour News 8's Rick Albin, Leon Hendrix and Tom Hillen contributed to this story.