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Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, will face off against Republican challenger Tudor Dixon in the state's governor debate.
The debate, hosted on Thursday evening in Grand Rapids and moderated by News 8 political reporter Rick Albin, marks the first time in Michigan's history that two female nominees for governor have appeared together on the debate stage.
Whitmer, who has served as governor since 2019, currently leads Dixon by 11 points, according to FiveThirtyEight. However, the Republican candidate still has time to flip the race before the midterm on November 8.
Abortion
Whitmer has stood strong on her position to keep abortion legal in the state of Michigan, and has repeatedly called out Dixon for her anti-abortion stance. Ahead of the debate, Whitmer tweeted on Thursday that she would "keep fighting like hell to protect" abortion rights after meeting with women on both sides of the aisle earlier in the week to discuss their concerns about reproductive rights, reported WLNS 6.
This week, I sat down with more Michigan women from all sides of the aisle who want to ensure abortion is legal in Michigan.
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) October 13, 2022
I couldn’t agree more.
I will keep fighting like hell to protect your rights.https://t.co/KKpC3hbYBn
Dixon, who has been endorsed by both former President Donald Trump and Right to Life of Michigan, has said that she supports abortion only to save the life of the mother, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Michigan voters will also have a chance to vote on abortion access this fall, with a measure on the ballot to decide if the state constitution should be expanded to protect "reproductive freedom." If the measure passes, it would invalidate a 1931 abortion ban that was blocked by a state judge in August.
Inflation
Dixon has focused much of her campaign on fighting inflation in Michigan, and has promised as governor to take steps like reduce income taxes, increase workforce training opportunities and enact other "pro-growth" policies, according to her campaign website. Dixon has also called out Whitmer for not doing enough to address "Bidenflation," tweeting last Saturday that gas prices in Michigan are still over $1 more than a year ago.
Under Bidenflation, Michigan is getting crushed by gas prices and Gretchen isn’t doing a thing to help families. pic.twitter.com/bMPkl1PTEi
— Tudor Dixon (@TudorDixon) October 8, 2022
Whitmer, on the other hand, said that she has "worked hard to lower costs" for Michigan voters, such as securing a $400 refund check to every Michigan driver and expanding affordable health care, according to her campaign.
Michigan Infrastructure
Both candidates have fought hard on their approaches to expand Michigan infrastructure, which ranks as one of the top issues for Michigan voters heading into November, according to a poll from Business Leaders for Michigan.
Whitmer's campaign claims that as governor, she has fixed over 13,000 miles of roads and more than 900 bridges, which the governor said in a tweet on Tuesday is a "win-win situation" that both increases jobs and invests in infrastructure.
It's a win-win situation. By making bold, bipartisan investments in our state's infrastructure, we've supported good-paying jobs to rebuild Michigan's roads, bridges, and water infrastructure.
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) October 11, 2022
Dixon said during a Monday interview on Fox News that Whitmer is full of "empty promises" and has not been transparent about infrastructure projects. Dixon's campaign has also pushed to invest in protections for Line 5, an oil pipeline that Whitmer has called on to cease operations.
Newsweek reached out to the campaigns of Whitmer and Dixon for comment.
About the writer
Kaitlin Lewis is a Newsweek reporter on the Night Team based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her focus is reporting on national ... Read more