2013 Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference

Snyder touts his accomplishments at GOP Mackinac conference: Gov. Rick Snyder all but announced his plans to seek re-election Friday, unveiling a campaign-style video that touts his accomplishments and denouncing as “hogwash” questions about whether he wants to keep his job. “We’re going to keep going and we’re going to reinvent our state,” Snyder told Republicans at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, held every two years on Mackinac Island. That prompted chants of “four more years” from the partisan crowd. http://on.freep.com/18JxmDT

Paul, Calley win Mackinac straw polls: Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky won the presidential straw poll at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie finishing second, according to results released Sunday, the final day of the three-day conference. Attendees also gave a strong endorsement for re-election to Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, who came out ahead of tea party challenger Wes Nakagiri, with 432 votes for Calley and 69 for Nakagiri, according to Decider Strategies and Gongwer News Service, which conducted the poll of conference attendees on Mackinac Island. on.freep.com/15i8fxd

Land emerges as GOP's likely U.S. Senate candidate: Two years ago Terri Lynn Land ferried into the island as the woman in the wings among a half-dozen men campaigning for U.S. Senate. This past weekend, however, the former secretary of state stepped into the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in the starring role. bit.ly/15lHNNK

Michigan's 'nerdy' Snyder says he's GOP model: Gov. Rick Snyder — the understated, self-described "nerd" and former CEO — is making one thing clear as he prepares for a challenging re-election race next year: He intends to be part of the national conversation underway about the Republican Party's future. The first-term governor used his role as host of a biennial state GOP conference that drew more than 1,000 state and national figures — including three potential presidential candidates — to cast himself as a problem solver with a governing philosophy that can fix the nation's ills. http://yhoo.it/18jRtKZ