Tudor Dixon has secured the Republican nomination for governor of Michigan after one of the most contentious primaries of the year in a state where the general election would have a significant impact on the next presidential race.
The former conservative television personality will take on Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was renominated without opposition on Tuesday, and who last week received former President Donald Trump’s backing.
Early results put Dixon ahead of four competitors, including chiropractor Garrett Soldano; Kevin Rinke, a former car dealer in the Detroit area who loaned his campaign $10 million; and Ryan Kelley, a real estate broker and right-wing activist who briefly held the lead before being arrested on misdemeanor charges of taking part in the uprising at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
At a gathering of supporters in the heart of Grand Rapids, Dixon pointed a harsh accusing finger at Whitmer. Throughout the early days of Covid, she frequently questioned the governor’s directives for lockdowns while promoting her own “family-friendly” agenda.
After the results were announced, Maeve Coyle, a spokeswoman for the Whitmer campaign, wrote in an email that Dixon “will take Michigan backward.”
The DeVos family, kingmakers in Michigan politics who backed Dixon and contributed to funding an affiliated super PAC, played a role in Dixon’s victory. Her victory also puts Trump one step closer to governorship and provides him the power to certify election results.
Trump is threatening to run again in 2024 and keeps asserting erroneously that he was denied a second term in 2020. Dixon responded positively during a debate when asked if she thought Trump won Michigan, a state that narrowly went to President Joe Biden. Additionally, she has adopted the debunked notion that Biden won the election due to fraud and nefarious actions by Democratic officeholders.
However, Dixon’s speech has been less cogent and persuasive than assertions made by other Trump loyalists in Michigan and elsewhere in the nation. In the last weeks of the campaign, Dixon’s rivals attacked her for her alleged allegiance to the previous president, seizing on a “Fox News Sunday” interview in which Dixon ducked the question of whether she thought the 2020 election was rigged.
Dixon similarly dodged a question from a reporter after casting her ballot early on Tuesday near her home in western Michigan.
Tuesday night, Dixon acknowledged every one of her rivals by name.
For her campaign to topple Whitmer, Dixon can rely on widespread support. The Republican Governors Association, which this year has cautiously contacted other GOP contenders, thanked her right away.
