Gov. Snyder during the State of the State address
Gov. Snyder during the State of the State address last month.
Back in December, before Gov. Rick Snyder's political fortunes went the way of the septic tank, he said during an interview that some presidential candidates had talked to him about an endorsement.
Suffice to say, now that the Flint water crisis has become a giant political liability, no one really wants to have his endorsement, at least for now.
Kathleen Gray of the Detroit Free Press reports:
In Michigan, however, Gov. Rick Snyder isn’t expected to offer an endorsement in the presidential race leading up to the state's March 8 primary. And, it would be risky politically for a candidate to be associated with the controversies swirling around Snyder and his administration, including the lead contaminated water in Flint.
That's not to say that some candidates haven't been talking with the Snyder organization about their presidential campaigns, said Snyder’s spokesman, Dave Murray. They have, but presidential politics is not on the mind of the governor or anyone in the administration right now, anyway.
“His endorsement really doesn’t help anyone right now,” John Truscott, president of the Lansing-based Truscott Rossman public relations firm and former spokesman for Gov. John Engler told the Freep. “He’s in the midst of a very difficult time that very few governors have had to deal with.”