Lt. Gov. Martha Griffiths says Gov. James Blanchard lost his job in part because he removed her as a running mate. ``I don't know if I feel vindicated, but I think it clearly shows that I won it for him the first two times,'' Griffiths said Wednesday after Republican John Engler defeated Blanchard by 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent. In announcing last summer he was dropping her from the ticket, Blanchard said he was concerned about the 78-year-old Griffiths' ability to run the state in the event something happened to him. ``I feel bad for him, but he took some very bad advice,'' she said. ``I would have gotten out the Detroit vote,'' she said, referring to the low turnout in Detroit, which analysts said hurt Blanchard. Griffiths said voters also told her repeatedly they had planned to vote against Blanchard because he took her off the ticket. Griffiths said Blanchard officials never took her up on an offer to campaign for the two-term governor.
