Mich. GOP seeks hockey player for Senate

DETROIT, June 13 (UPI) -- Michigan Republicans are courting an unnamed former Detroit Red Wing to challenge Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2012, a party official says.

Dennis Lennox, a committeeman of the party in Cheboygan County, told The Detroit News he and other Republicans met recently with the retired hockey player.

"I don't think it would be appropriate to give a name while a person is considering it and hasn't made a decision," he said. "The player in question that we are trying to recruit is very well-known to Michiganders and would be well-positioned to hit the ground running and defeat Senator Stabenow."

No major challenger to the Democrat has emerged, and former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra and Republican National Committeeman Saul Anuzis have all taken themselves out of the running.

Former Red Wing Doug Brown says Republicans have approached him in the past but he is not interested and is not the man under consideration now.