Birmingham's David Wolkinson Joins Bentivolio Re-Election Campaign

U.S. Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Milford, officially on Thursday announced David Wolkinson, of Birmingham, as campaign manager for his bid at a second term in Congress. 

It is the second high-profile Birmingham connection to the campaign made public in the last 10 days. Bentivolio recently announced that Birmingham's Eve Jung is his campaign chairwoman.

Wolkinson was among four local Republicans that sought the 40th District seat in the State House of Representatives last August. He finished in a virtual tied for second behind Mike McCready with close to 30 percent of the vote.

“David is in politics for the right reasons, to get government out of the way and enable this country to get back on the path to prosperity,” Bentivolio said in a news release. “I was delighted when David and his fellow vice chairmen of the Michigan Republican Party endorsed me last week, and I am even more excited about his willingness to take on this crucial role in my re-election campaign.”

Wolkinson officially starts next week, but didn't waste anytime pushing his candidate.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to work on Kerry’s re-election campaign,” said Wolkinson. “Kerry is a three time veteran of a foreign war, a retired teacher, a husband and a father. I have followed his record closely in Washington and I am proud to stand up and defend his conservative voting record. I look forward to helping Kerry build a wide-ranging conservative coalition that will re-elect him next November."

Bentivolio will face Birmingham attorney Dave Trott in next year's party primary for the 11th District, which stretches into Wayne and Livingston counties.