By AP
LANSING, MI –
Many of Michigan's tea party activists are trying to coalesce behind one of the eight Republicans running for the chance to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
But former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra fears the setup favors one of his rivals and plans to skip a Saturday Senate debate with tea partiers at Central Michigan University. Five of the GOP hopefuls are participating in the event.
The internal politics could hurt the GOP's chances of denying Stabenow a third term.
Hoekstra has come in for criticism from some tea party groups who say he's not paying enough attention to them. Hoekstra's campaign says he's meeting with many tea party groups.
It's unclear if the tea partiers will be able to unite behind one candidate. Some groups aren't attending Saturday's debate.