Fisher's campaign acknowledged it had no issue with past Republican mailers that told voters to call him at his personal number, but the candidate said Republicans took it too far by directing citizens to call Fisher at his mother's number. Fisher, a 64-year-old Oshtemo Township pastor, is running against Republican Kalamazoo County Commissioner Brandt Iden and Libertarian Michael Stampfler in a bid to represent the state's 61st House District, which covers the city of Portage as well as Oshtemo, Schoolcraft, Texas and Prairie Ronde townships. "I don't know how it could be underhanded to try to remind people not to call my mom," Fisher said. The Michigan Republican Party says they accept responsibility for the mailer, and sent a statement which apologized for any distress that was caused, adding that it wasn't their intention to have people call Fisher's mother.
– John Fisher has no beef with voters calling him on his personal phone, but please don't call his 91-year-old mother. The Michigan Democrat, who's running for a state House seat, is fired up after a GOP campaign mailer was sent out this week telling people in the city of Portage to call him and "tell him hard-working Michiganders are being hurt by ObamaCare and the health care policies [Democrats] support." Which would've been fine, except the phone number on the mailer was the direct line to his mother's room at a local nursing home, where she's being given hospice care for congestive heart failure, Fisher's campaign manager tells Michigan Live. Fisher didn't recognize the number when he got his hands on the mailer. "When I dialed it, it came up on my cellphone, and it said, 'Mom,'" he tells WWMT. Meanwhile, Isabel Kramb fielded her son's calls from her room, giving a stock answer of "I'm sorry, he's not here, I'm his mother," she tells the station. The Michigan GOP says it discovered the number online under Fisher's name and apologized "for any distress that was caused" by Kramb receiving the phone calls. In a statement cited by Michigan Live, Fisher railed on the campaign promo, noting that "to direct people to call a suffering woman who deserves peace and comfort is beyond the pale." He also spoke about the mailer outside the nursing home—with his mother present. WMMT asked him if that was perhaps also in poor taste. "I don't know how it could be underhanded to try to remind people not to call my mom," Fisher said.