When he filed to run for the 18th District state Senate seat earlier this year, the Republican from Manchester penned his name on the official paperwork: "Farmer John Hochstetler."

That's how he wanted his name to appear on the ballot.

John Hochstetler of Manchester is running for the 18th District state Senate seat as a Republican.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

"Then they called me at home and said, 'The state of Michigan won't let you do that,'" Hochstetler recalled this week. "I said, 'Well, why not, they did it in California?' And they said, 'Well, this isn't California.'"

Hochstetler, whose name will appear on the Aug. 3 primary ballot without mention of his profession, is one of two Republicans seeking the Senate seat being vacated by Liz Brater, D-Ann Arbor, who is term-limited.

Hochstetler, who ran for the same seat several years ago against Alma Wheeler Smith and lost, faces off this time against Gary Wellings, a Republican newspaper editor from Northfield Township.

The winner will face off in November against either Pam Byrnes, Rebekah Warren or Thomas Patridge, who are vying for the Democratic nomination.

Hochstetler said he had a very logical reason for wanting "farmer" to appear before his name on the ballot.

"I think all people need to know who they're voting for," he said. "I'm not a politician, I'm not a lawyer, and it seems like that's the only candidates the people out there get to vote for. If you're not a politician, or you're not a lawyer, they don't want you around. And I think we need somebody else in there because what we've had in there is not really working too good."

Wellings is of a similar mind. He says he decided to run because he thinks Michigan has reached a crossroads, and it's going to require difficult decisions to put the state on the path to prosperity. He says that's going to require an "untypical politician" willing to make unpopular decisions.

"I think citizen legislators are the new key to making Michigan turn around, and I'd like to see more of us get elected," he says.

Wellings and Hochstetler squared off in a debate Wednesday night hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area. But it wasn't a typical political debate. Neither criticized the other, and after the cameras stopped rolling inside CTN's television studios, the two men turned to each other and chatted amiably.

"I would tell the people this: If you're really happy with the job the Legislature has been doing, when they go to another job, reelect them," Hochstetler says. "Go right ahead if that's what you want. But if you're tired of that, if you think we need a new direction, maybe you better think a little different about who you vote for the next time."

Both men acknowledge the Republican winner in next month's primary will have an uphill battle convincing Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County voters to elect a Republican to the Senate.

Gary Wellings of Northfield Township is running for the 18th District state Senate seat as a Republican.

"This is a very, very long shot," Wellings says. "But knocking on doors, even in parts of Ann Arbor here, I'm getting some amazing responses. I mean, I had two people last week who wouldn't shake my hand until they knew I was a Republican, and I kind of thought, 'Have things gotten that bad?'

"There's a lot of disenfranchised Democrats," he adds. "There's a lot of mad Independents, and of course, you've always got your Republican straight-ticket votes. I'm not fooling myself into thinking this is something that's really, really probable, but if it could happen, this is the year."

Wellings vows not to increase taxes. He says the state instead needs to take a serious look at the performance of its departments. He points to reports by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Anderson Economic Group that claim billions of dollars in responsible cuts could be made.

"Right now raising taxes would only make a bad situation even worse," he says. "Having more taxes will drive more businesses away and drive more people out of town, and it's a vicious cycle that needs to be stopped."

Hochstetler agrees.

"Taxes ruin our freedom. It's time to cut taxes," he says. "And when you don't have the money, let's not spend."

Hochstetler and Wellings also agree term limits for legislators in Lansing should remain to keep career politicians from serving in perpetuity. But they disagree on the need to convene a state constitutional convention, which Michigan voters will be asked to approve on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Hochstetler says the estimated $40 million cost to hold a constitutional convention could be better spent on schools. But Wellings says there are enough problems with the state's tax code right now that require some constitutional questions to be answered, and it's time to take action with Michigan on the ropes.

"What's happened in the last 10 years in Michigan is the business environment has soured," Wellings says. "And it's happened because of over-regulation and over-taxation. The Michigan business tax and the regulations we have had put us 48th in the entire nation, which is third worst, for a business environment. And to get jobs to come back to Michigan, we need to change that."

Wellings says Republicans and Democrats alike need to stop bickering and realize one major challenge is before them: Stopping spending. He says he would propose a 20 percent to 30 percent cut for state lawmakers, and he would ask state government employees to share in the sacrifice.

"Public sector employees with their benefit compensation get $5.7 billion more in annual benefits than private sector employees," he says. "That's not right. Civil servants should be that — civil servants."

Hochstetler has a small farm just east of Manchester, which he says allows him to provide "healthy, delicious, nutritious food" to the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. His passion for healthy and safe food carries into his platform.

He is an advocate for 10 Percent Washtenaw, a program that aims to raise awareness of the benefits of buying locally grown food. He points out county residents spend more than $1 billion a year on food, and they're sending almost all of those dollars outside of Michigan — to companies that may or may not be looking out for the health and safety of local residents.

"If we could get just 10 percent of the people to buy food grown in Washtenaw County, you're talking about a $100 million a year business just right here in this county," he says. "We have vacant farms that could be used right now."

Hochstetler grew up in Manchester and at one time served on the Manchester school board. He's been married to his wife for 32 years and has four children.

His oldest son has been in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. His oldest daughter is in the Marines and has been to Djibouti, Africa. And his youngest son, after he graduates from high school next year, is going into the Marines.

Wellings took the longer road to Washtenaw County. He grew up in the Trenton area and attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, where he earned his bachelor's degree in business administration.

In the mid-1990s, he says, he was looking for a place that was "kind of rednecky and swampy" and ended up moving to Northfield Township. He's made unsuccessful bids for township supervisor and clerk in recent years.

He says he's a "construction guy by trade." But he saw the writing on the wall earlier this decade and, about three years ago, fell into the newspaper business. He now serves as editor of The Courant, a tiny operation based out of Whitmore Lake with two paid staffers and a team of volunteer contributors.

"Though I don't have a journalism degree or anything, we've managed to quadruple the size of the paper in just over 36 months," he says. "We found a niche and have managed to increase our circulation to 23,000 right now. I think we started at 3,600. So it's been pretty amazing and eye-opening for me, but it's been fun, too."

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.