Gov. Snyder expected to endorse Lt. Gov. Brian Calley at campaign event

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to officially endorse Lt. Gov. Brian Calley at a campaign event in Southfield Wednesday.

"Lt. Gov. Calley and Gov. Snyder will attend an event this afternoon to highlight the best way to continue Michigan's comeback over the next four years," said Calley campaign spokesman Michael Schrimpf.

In most ways, Snyder endorsing Calley — his Republican running mate in the 2010 and 2014 elections and close partner on numerous issues — is no surprise at all. Snyder has praised Calley at every opportunity and in the last 18 months has provided the Portland Republican with increasing opportunities to raise his profile.

But Snyder's decision to officially endorse Calley is still significant, since Snyder has repeatedly stopped short of doing that when questioned by reporters.

It also reinforces the message that a centerpiece of Calley's campaign will be trumpeting the state's economic record under Snyder and promises of a continuation of similar policies on jobs and taxes.

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"I am proud to have been an integral part of Michigan's extraordinary rise from the recession that plagued our state," Calley said in announcing his candidacy in November.

Today's 2:15 p.m. event is at the headquarters of construction company Barton Malow, whose president and CEO Ryan Maibach and other top executives have been significant donors to Calley's campaign.

Calley, a former state representative and banker, had an awkward start to his campaign by leading a problem-plagued ballot initiative to move Michigan to a part-time Legislature from a full-time one.

A recent EPIC-MRA poll showed that 59% of voters surveyed do not recognize Calley's name. Calley's top opponent for the Republican nomination, Attorney General Bill Schuette, is not recognized by only 22% of voters, according to the same poll.

If history is any guide, Calley also faces a challenge as a lieutenant governor seeking to follow his governor into the top office. Former Lt. Gov. John Cherry tried to succeed Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, but dropped out of the race early. Former Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus tried to succeed Republican Gov. John Engler and came up short.

The last Michigan lieutenant governor to become governor was Republican William Milliken in 1969, but that was because Gov. George Romney resigned from office to join the cabinet of President Richard Nixon.

Former Democratic Gov. John Swainson, who succeeded Gov. G. Mennen (Soapy) Williams as governor from 1961 through 1962, is the only person in Michigan history to run for governor as a sitting lieutenant governor and win, said Bill Ballenger, publisher of The Ballenger Report political newsletter.

"The problem with the lieutenant governor is he really has no portfolio, other than what the governor gives him," Ballenger said Tuesday.

Snyder has given Calley significant responsibilities, and "if Snyder was really popular, he'd probably be really helped by that, but is that the case?"

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.