By Nick Smith
Staff Writer
Posted: June 15, 2018 2:48 PM

What’s one clear sign that campaign season has arrived in full force? The growing stream of emails announcing every last thing a candidate is doing, saying, announcements of a candidate’s growing popularity or lead in polls (mainstream or internal) and of course the large and small tit for tat shots.

In fact, shortly before beginning to type this blog I had a campaign donation email roll in from the campaign of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing). It was one of multiple legislative and statewide campaign emails that came in a steady drip-drip-drip throughout the morning.

The Republican U.S. Senate primary race between Farmington Hills business executive and Iraq War veteran John James and Grosse Pointe business executive Sandy Pensler appears to be slowly heading in that direction, with a few light warning shots being fired from each side in recent weeks.

Most recently was when the Pensler campaign sent out a tweet acknowledging the U.S. Army’s 243rd birthday Thursday. The James campaign quickly pointed out the photo used in the tweet, which is no longer available, was a stock photo of the U.S. Marine Corps.

James campaign staff proceeded to pile on, with campaign consultant Stu Sandler posting tweets and calling the image something or someone else. A picture of New York City was posted saying “Sandy Pensler wishes a happy birthday to Grand Rapids” as well as tweets of actor and comedian Steve Martin and actress Jennifer Aniston, claiming Mr. Pensler wishes actor Tom Hanks and actress Courteney Cox, respectively, a happy birthday.

Pensler campaign spokesman Tom Shields dismissed the gaffe as “inside baseball kind of issues” that “makes volunteers feel good” and are not significant.

Stock photo gaffes occasionally happen in campaigns in Michigan and elsewhere. Sometimes they are of more consequence, although this one would seem to be relatively minor.

The Twitter exchange is of less consequence than the back-and-forth on debates in recent weeks, with one tentatively close to being confirmed for July 6. Debate on debates? Also a common primary campaign tactic.

One of the first more direct attacks came earlier this month when the candidates questioned each other’s conservative credentials by pointing to past campaign contributions to Democrats.

Mr. Pensler recently began running a campaign advertisement citing a $500 campaign contribution to Detroit City Council member Raquel Castaneda-Lopez in 2015.

It was quickly pointed out that Mr. Pensler donated $1,000 to former Democratic U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia in 2002 and gave $500 to former U.S. Rep. Bob Carr of Michigan in 1994.

Clearly, opposition research is alive, well and starting to bear some initial fruits.

With a little over seven weeks before the August 7 primary the two will without a doubt get several far more significant practice reps in before one of them must begin taking much sharper swings against the seasoned Ms. Stabenow.