UNDATED (WOOD) — The race for the State Senate in the 34th District is one of 26 open seats due to term limits.
Republican Sen. Goeff Hansen is serving his final months in office there are three candidates who are trying to replace him in January.
The 34th covers Muskegon, Oceana and Newaygo counties and three ballot qualified candidates are hoping to represent those counties in Lansing.
For former Republican State Rep. Jon Bumstead, the main issue he sees for his district is jobs: not a tremendous lack of them as when he first ran for office but instead, finding enough qualified people to fill the openings in a resurgent economy.
"Look at all the businesses, the “help wanted” signs up and down these streets, everywhere, and it's about career tech training,” Bumstead said. “We need to put maybe more money or more focus on how do we get these young people to apply for these jobs? There's a lot of good jobs out there. You know, I see a lot of them on the billboard (with a) starting wage (of) $15 an hour with healthcare and those types of things. That's a really good starting wage."
FULL STORY: WOOD TV