Businessman and combat veteran John James has the inside track to the Republican nomination for Senate in Michigan after Rep. Fred Upton dropped plans to run and opted for re-election to the House.

James, a first-time candidate, outperformed Upton in public and private polling. That Republican primary voters prefer a novice outsider to a respected lawmaker with a lengthy record of accomplishment reveals the extent to which rejection of the political establishment is dominating GOP politics.