The only person in the 50th state House Republican primary who has never run for elected office before has crushed his opponents — all political veterans — with his fundraising prowess.
Dominic Restuccia of Howell raked in an impressive $71,608, a whopping 63% more than incumbent state Rep. Bob Bezotte, R-Marion Township, who appears to be facing a tough primary. Out-raised by two of his three opponents, Bezotte recently made the No. 4 spot on the MIRS list of the Top 10 House incumbents in trouble.
Bezotte, who announced in January that he was retiring from politics and would not seek re-election, filed paperwork to run the day before the filing deadline for the Aug. 6 primary. Between announcing he was not seeking re-election and his late filing to run, Bezotte endorsed both Jason Woolford of Howell and Kristina Lyke of Fowlerville. Restuccia is the fourth candidate in the Republican primary.
Expressing his gratitude for the “outpouring of support from friends, family and neighbors,” Restuccia described his campaign as “grassroots,” and a “choice between more of the same versus common-sense solutions showing up to deliver real results,” and he rapped Bezotte for “missing 171 votes this session alone.”
According to campaign filings, Restuccia raised $71,608 and spent $57,142.75. He has $14,466 on hand.
Woolford raised $59,734 and spent nearly the same amount. He reported $11,690 on hand.
Bezotte raised $43,768 and spent $45,069. He has $5,470 on hand.
Lyke raised just $9,360 and spent $3,382. She has $5,977 on hand.
In ranking Bezotte as No. 4 on its list of 10 House incumbents in trouble, MIRS wrote: “…In a head-to-head against door-knocking machine Dominic Restuccia or the aggressive campaign of Jason Woolford, Bezotte would be No. 1 or 2 on this list. Instead, the anti-Bezotte support is being split three ways with Kristina Lyke also in the fold. That helps the incumbent, regardless of how much support he’s lost from dropping out or from his messy divorce,” MIRS wrote. “Word from the district is that Woolford and Restuccia are burying Bezotte in the yard sign war. Woolford has sent out at least five mailers while Bezotte has relied on third-party PACs to help him. But Bezotte’s years of Livingston County service has earned him an automatic 15% base. In a competitive four-way race, he doesn’t need that much more to win.”
Bezotte, 73, is currently involved in divorce proceedings with his wife of 51 years, who claimed in her Nov. 30 divorce filing that she has suffered “mental, emotional and physical abuse throughout the marriage,” but did not elaborate further. Bezotte denied her claims in his response. A status conference on the divorce is set for Aug. 2, 2024, four days before the primary.
Bezotte was first elected to the state House in 2020. Under new term limits approved by voters in 2022, legislators can serve a total of 12 combined years in the Michigan House and Senate, making Bezotte eligible to serve for eight more years.
Bezotte previously served on the Livingston County Board of Commissioners for four years, and as Livingston County’s sheriff for nearly 12 years.
The 50th House District includes the city of Howell and the village of Fowlerville, plus the townships of Cohoctah, Conway, Deerfield, Handy, Hartland, Howell, Iosco, Marion, Oceola, Unadilla, southern Tyrone Township, and the north and west parts of Putnam Township.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was re-written after documentation of Dominic Restuccia’s fund-raising was made available.
