Despite being 74 and recovering from severe injuries from an auto accident, Michigan's Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson is still thinking about re-election.
"If my health is good, I just might run again," Patterson told Newsmax at last week's Lincoln Day Dinner in Oakland County. "It sure beats working."
Patterson is truly the grand old man of politics in what until recently has been Michigan's largest Republican county, but he would be facing an electorate trending Democratic if he runs again in 2016.
As county prosecutor for 16 years, Patterson championed the death penalty in a state that was the first in the nation to outlaw it. He lost bids for U.S. senator, governor, and state attorney general but, since being elected county executive in 1992, Patterson has been unbeatable.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
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