Republican voters re-nominated state Rep. Andrew Fink on Aug. 2 to run for a second term representing Hillsdale, Branch, and part of Lenawee counties in the state legislature.
Fink defeated Steve Meckley, owner of Meckley Flavor Fruit Farms, to represent Michigan’s 35th state house district. Fink will face Democratic nominee Andrew Watkins in the Nov. 8 general election.
The Detroit Free Press reported Fink received 57% of the votes while Meckley trailed with 43%.
Nearly 9,000 Hillsdale County voters turned out for this year’s primary, down from almost 12,000 voters in the 2020 primary, according to the Hillsdale County Clerk’s office. Meckley won a narrow victory over Fink in Hillsdale County, garnering 3,990 votes compared to Fink’s 3,956 votes.
Branch County voters swept Fink to victory with 4,159 votes, nearly double Meckley’s 2,086 votes in that county, according to the Branch County Clerk’s office.
Andrew Watkins, a veteran and Hillsdale native, ran unopposed on the Democratic primary ticket for the state representative seat, according to the Hillsdale County Clerk’s Office. Watkins said he was excited to run against Fink in the general election and looks forward to meeting voters on the campaign trail.
“I understand the needs of the everyday resident in this district in a way Mr. Fink never could,” Watkins said. “I hope the voters in this district will take the opportunity to get to know me and decide based on merits and personal experience rather than party affiliation before casting their vote on Nov. 8.”
Fink said his campaign focused on his efforts to pass protections for the Second Amendment, the unborn, and businesses while serving in Lansing.
“Extremism on issues like abortion are just getting away from what has made America the country it is, and citizens are the subjects of academic exercises rather than makeup of the government itself,” Fink said. “We have a Democratic Party that is almost officially trending toward socialist economics.”
Fink highlighted his background as a husband, veteran, and partner at a small family-run law firm.
“What I often say is the citizen is the fundamental unit of government,” Fink said. “Political service to me is integrated with the family life that I’m living, the military service to my country, and other ways I have worked within the community.”
Fink said he learned much from his constituents by door-knocking during the campaign.
“You have to be ready to talk to anybody,” Fink said. “I have people who didn’t like the job I was doing, in their perception, for one reason or another. And in a lot of cases, the conversation was very helpful.”
Meckley announced his concession on Aug. 3, the day after the election, in a Facebook video. He thanked his supporters for a good race.
“I want to say congratulations to my opponent, Andrew Fink, for a very good race,” Meckley said in the video. “We had a great five months in this campaign, and we got a lot accomplished in that time.”
Meckley said he would support Fink in the general election and urged his supporters to do the same.