Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) believes a snub from a major anti-abortion group cost him his party’s gubernatorial nomination.
Hoekstra, who finished second to businessman Rick Snyder in the Aug. 3 primary, said Friday that the leader of Right to Life of Michigan should be fired for supporting the endorsement of third-place finisher Mike Cox (R).
“Barb Listing has to go back and explain how she threw people like myself, who have an 18-year, 100 percent pro-life voting record, under the bus,” Hoekstra said during a taping of Michigan Public Television’s “Off the Record.”
The conservative Republican said he was reacting to complaints from the group’s members. “There are a lot of people in Right to Life who are saying either there’s new leadership, or they’re going to be looking for another pro-life organization to align with,” he said.
A spokesman for Right to Life of Michigan called the congressman’s reaction “sour grapes.”
“It’s a shame he’s looking for a scapegoat,” the spokesman said.
Hoekstra, who’s retiring from congress, also said there’s a 99 percent chance he won’t be Snyder’s running mate. “There are other opportunities I’d rather pursue. Being lieutenant governor is not in my future,” he said, according to the Detroit Free Press.