Though Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer leads her Republican opponent Tudor Dixon, the race is far from decided.
Whitmer led her Republican opponent Tudor Dixon by 11%, in a poll of likely voters last month. But Whitmer may have to win over a number of Michiganders to remain in the governor’s mansion, as more than half of those surveyed by Lansing-based research firm EPIC-MRA said they view her negatively.
Born in 1971 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Whitmer is a graduate of Michigan State University and MSU College of Law. After serving on both the Michigan House of Representatives and the State Senate and practicing law for two years, Whitmer became Michigan’s 48th governor. She won 53.3% of the vote in the 2018 gubernatorial election with her campaign promise to “fix the damn roads,” though Whitmer has asked voters for more time to make good on this pledge due to lack of funding. Whitmer is a mother of five and wife to dentist Dr. Marc Mallory.
Whitmer gained national attention in 2020 for her COVID-19 pandemic response. She prohibited travel between residences and “inessential” long-distance drives. Her executive order banned the operation of lawn and landscaping services, motor boating, and golf. She also required stores to stop selling home gardening supplies, prompting the Michigan GOP to denounce her “draconian lockdowns and incoherent shutdown orders.”
Michigan’s second female governor made headlines in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court overturn of Roe v. Wade for her support of abortion. She filed a motion with the Michigan Supreme Court in June to repeal a state law criminalizing abortion. Pro-abortion groups Emily’s List and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Michigan have donated nearly $100,000 to Whitmer’s campaign.
“To participate fully and equally in society, Michigan women need access to abortion,” Whitmer said.
Whitmer has boasted on Twitter of creating 25,000 “good-paying auto jobs” while in office. She secured a $2 billion investment from Ford, a $4.5 billion investment from Stellantis, and a $7 billion investment from GM, according to her website.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed in May that Michigan has lost thousands of auto jobs on her watch. When she became governor, Whitmer inherited 169,500 auto jobs and statistics show that number has since decreased by nearly 3,000 jobs, equalling 166,700 jobs in May 2022, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Whitmer was a vocal adversary of former President Donald Trump. She accused him of being “complicit” in a plot to kidnap her in October 2020 by two men who were indicted on Aug. 23. In response, Trump tweeted that Whitmer “has done a terrible job” governing her state. He criticized her for failing to keep her campaign promise to fix Michigan’s roads.
“I understand she’s not fixing those potholes,” Trump said. “It was all about roads and they want to raise those gasoline taxes, and we don’t want to do that.”
Whitmer and her opponent, a former anchor for conservative news outlet America’s Voice News, have clashed over education. Dixon has criticized Whitmer for the length of time she closed schools during the pandemic.
While the incumbent has said she values early childhood education, teacher recruitment, and closing the funding gap between Michigan schools, Dixon supports a school choice program Whitmer’s administration has opposed. The governor criticized former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ school choice proposal in favor of increasing public school funding.
“Every Michigan kid deserves access to high-quality public education,” Whitmer said.
Senior and President of the Michigan College Republicans Dan Harmon said he thinks Whitmer will be a tough incumbent to beat.
“Despite this the race is not over and Michigan elections have historically been much closer than the polls often predict,” Harmon said. “Tudor Dixon does have a chance in a red wave year, especially with Biden’s unpopularity in this state in addition to Whitmer’s draconian COVID policies.”