L Brooks Patterson

Patterson won reelection as county prosecutor over and over—1976, 1980, 1984. He tried for U.S. Senate in 1978 and lost the GOP primary. He tried for governor in 1982, and again lost the primary. As a consolation, he was handed the nomination for attorney general, but lost in November. Asked about a potential run for lieutenant governor, he declined. The pitbull prosecutor turned happy warrior fighting on behalf of business conservatism. In 1988, he co-chaired George H.W. Bush’s presidential campaign in Michigan (Bush walloped Michael Dukakis by nearly 8 points) and opted not to run for reelection as prosecutor. Then, heading into the 1992 election cycle, Oakland County Executive Daniel T. Murphy—the only man ever to hold the office since it was created in the 1970s, an inoffensive and low-key presence despite being the other GOP goliath in the county—announced his retirement. The top job was Patterson’s for the taking.