Governor’s Race Heats Up as August Primary Approaches
From left: Garrett Soldano, Kevin Rinke, Ralph Rebandt, Ryan Kelley and Tudor Dixon
By Paul Natinsky
The bubbling cauldron that is Michigan’s Republican gubernatorial primary race will be fueled by yet another log on the fire beneath it as five candidates prepare to debate at press time.
The chaos began when five other candidates were removed from the ballot over issues with fraudulent or improperly gathered signatures validating their candidacy. Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, the presumptive frontrunner at the time, was notably among them.
In the ensuing void, five top candidates began posturing for a shot at the governor’s mansion. Tudor Dixon, Kevin Rinke, Ryan Kelley, Ralph Rebandt and Garrett Soldano are bunched up in recent polls, with Dixon getting a recent boost from several major endorsements, including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and Right to Life of Michigan, and an influx of money from major Republican contributors, including the powerful DeVos family. Craig is adding intrigue with an aggressive write-in campaign.
Amid the turbulence, Republicans struggle to heal their party and put forward a candidate that can unseat the incumbent Gretchen Whitmer. The task will be difficult as evidenced by recent polling data that registered higher numbers when respondents were asked if they would vote for “a Republican candidate” over Whitmer than when they were asked if they would vote for specific candidates over Whitmer, said pollster and analyst Ed Sarpolus of Target Insyght.
Sarpolus says Whitmer is beatable and there is time before November’s general election for Republicans to polish a contender candidate—but they would have to work quickly.
The economy
Closely aligned philosophically on the issues, especially the economy, the Second Amendment and abortion, the candidates put their own twists on policy solutions.
“I want to eliminate the personal income tax, and that’s 4.25% that the hard-working Chaldean community contributes to Lansing,” said Rinke. “They would receive back their fair share of $12 billion for them to spend in the community, on their families in a fashion that suits them best instead of Lansing spending it without their input.”
Craig taps his long experience heading police departments in three cities. He says it is important to bring people to the table—especially those with whom you disagree—so that everyone feels enfranchised and has their voice heard.
He says this is something that did not happen in the Whitmer Administration. He says she mishandled managing unemployment benefits and ended up costing the state $8.4 million. He was also critical of the governor not bringing together lawmakers of both parties to weigh in on big decisions.
“I’ve come to learn during my professional life is that many times the top managers and executives don’t always deliver accurate information,” says Craig. “The only time you can make real-time decisions that have a positive impact is to be on the ground.”
Kelley looks to create an environment in which individuals and small businesses can thrive. He referred us to his campaign website, on which we found pledges to eliminate all COVID-19 restrictions on businesses; ensure no future lockdowns, assembly restrictions or shutdowns; extend and increase personal tax exemption deduction; develop a task force to study other states that do not have a personal state income tax, with aims to reduce or eliminate Michigan personal state income tax; eliminate unemployment for those refusing to return to work and incentivize small businesses with regulation and tax reductions.
“Joe Biden’s inflation has driven up the cost of everything and is threatening to put us into a recession,” said Dixon. “Gretchen Whitmer has supported Biden’s policies every step of the way. In fact, she has said she is ‘cut from the same cloth’ as Biden. She, too, should be held accountable for the economic disaster that is continuing to unfold. Gretchen Whitmer’s lockdown orders cost Michigan one-third of our businesses, wasted billions on unemployment, and suppressed our recovery.”
We asked Dixon what she would do to help small businesses in Michigan.
“We need to cut regulations by 40% and change the state bureaucracy to be friendly to businesses, not work against them,” she said. “As a former small business owner, I understand what business owners are dealing with and will ensure a more business-friendly environment.”
Soldano, a chiropractor and former Western Michigan University football player, takes a limited government approach to economic issues. The slogan at the top of his website’s economy tab reads, “No more restrictions. No more excessive regulations. No more job-killing mandates.”
Details of his economic approach are supportive of not resorting to lockdowns, lowering taxes and supporting small businesses.
Rebandt, pastor of a church in Farmington Hills, features a detailed plan called the “Lighthouse Initiative” that fleshes out his positions on a wide range of issues. Specific to the economy and jobs, Rebandt has crafted an eight-point plan to lower taxes. Additionally, he supports reduced government spending, reforms in entitlement programs, and ensuring that earmarks (targeted spending for specific projects, often in a powerful legislator’s district) don’t make a return in Michigan, as they have on the federal level.
Immigration issues
Most of the candidates who commented or posted a position on immigration support legal immigration, but view illegal immigration, particularly along the U.S. southern border as a major problem.
“America is a country of immigrants and Michigan is one of its most diverse states. And I’m proud of that. At the federal level, we have immigration policy that is failing both Republicans and Democrats. In fact, it’s failing America because it’s open borders. That’s not how America works,” said Rinke.
“As it relates to the Chaldean community, I want to be perfectly clear that I believe Chaldeans around the world are being persecuted and I would welcome Chaldeans to come to Michigan, to be in Michigan and know that they are safe while they go through the proper process to become full-time American citizens, unlike the people who are illegally crossing our southern borders simply to come into America for who-knows-what purposes.
“There is a difference, and the persecution of Chaldeans is despicable, and that’s why Michigan will be a very friendly place for them under a Rinke Administration,” he said.
Craig said we are “failing as a country” on immigration. He pointed to human trafficking and the drug trade as two consequences of what he called “open borders.” He said the Biden Administration is “doing nothing and the governor is silent.”
“I am a strong proponent of legal immigration and believe legal immigrants have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream in Michigan,” said Dixon. “I supported President Trump’s policies to improve border security and address illegal immigration and believe we should return to those policies.”
Waiting in the wings
At press time, all of the focus regarding matters gubernatorial was on the steamy week ahead of the Republican primary. But waiting in the wings is a strong incumbent governor who, despite a number of deep battle scars, remains the November winner in recent polls.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade is perhaps the brightest flashpoint for this election as it shifts the issue from abortion rights to women’s rights, says pollster Ed Sarpolus. As evidence, he cites recent poll data indicating that 20% of older Republican women are migrating toward Whitmer.
Whitmer also provides an expected first choice for advocates of gun control.
“As Michiganders, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to protect each other from gun violence. No one should be afraid to go to school, work, a house of worship, or even their own home.
“Commonsense laws save lives, and this is a time for us to come together behind public safety measures like universal background checks, keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, and safe storage reform,” she said.
She said her Administration secured over $50 million for school safety grants and programs earlier this summer, and that the most recent budget dedicates per-student mental health resources on top of $50 million for the TRAILS mental health program, tens of millions for school-based health centers, plus an additional $210 million for school safety.
Sarpolus says Whitmer does not have a lot of wins to tout on the campaign trail, which leaves her vulnerable. But the fact remains, unlike her Republican challengers, she does have a record on which to run, and success is in the eye of the beholder.
We asked the governor to talk about her first-term accomplishments.
“Tough times call for tough people. Despite the challenges of the past few years, we have made so much progress working together to build a stronger Michigan. Every single bill I have signed – 900 in the last three years – has been bipartisan, and I am willing to sit down with anyone to solve problems and help people.
“We made Michigan’s largest ever investment in K-12 education, tripled the number of reading coaches, and reduced class sizes, and we just recently brought Republicans and Democrats together to recruit more teachers and expand before and after-school programming as well as free tutoring. We brought low or no-cost childcare to 105,000 children and helped enroll 35,000 four-year-olds in affordable, high-quality pre-K.
“We are cutting costs for Michigan families and sent $3 billion back into their pockets through $400 auto insurance refund checks for every driver.
“We are growing our economy by putting 170,000 Michiganders on a path to good-paying jobs with tuition-free skills training and college and securing 25,000 new auto jobs as part of the biggest manufacturing boom in years. We are fixing the ‘damn roads’ and have repaired over 13,000 lane miles and over 900 bridges, while supporting more than 80,000 good paying jobs. We cut taxes for small businesses and delivered $400 million to support local jobs.”
It hasn’t been this hot in August—politically or meteorologically—for a long time. Consequently, the early predictions are for a fiery fall...at least on the campaign trail.