DETROIT -- Rep. Mark Siljander, R-Mich., said Wednesday a tape he distributed to fundamentalist ministers asking them to 'break the back of Satan' by helping his campaign probably cost him the election.
The 35-year-old conservative was defeated in the primary in Michigan's 4th congressional district Tuesday by Fred Upton, a protege of former Budget Director David Stockman, who is seeking political office for the first time.
Siljander told a post-midnight news conference that the the tape was the key to his downfall.
'Maybe it should have been re-worded,' he said.
In the tape, the three-term Republican said: 'We must get every single voting Christian to the polls Aug. 5. ... We must look at Satan in the face and the humanism that faces our nation and the social destruction that's before us.'
Siljander went on to urge the clergy to pray and fast for his victory in the primary.
'In order to break this confusion, the smears, the attacks, the impugning of my integrity during this campaign coming up on Aug. 5, this all-important primary, we need to break the back of Satan and the lies that are coming our way,' he said.
Upton, 33, of St. Joseph, said the tape probably contributed but credited a 'massive get-out-the-vote effort and our troops were in the field and everywhere.'
Upton, a grandson of a founder of the Whirlpool Corp., will face Democrat Dan Roche of Benton Harbor in the general election this fall. Upton is virtually assured of election in the overwhelmingly Republican district.
Siljander said he would endorse Upton's candidacy because 'we need every single Republican we can in Congress.'
Siljander succeeded Stockman in the southwestern Michigan post in 1981 after Stockman was appointed budget director by President Reagan.
