igan Governor Gretchen Whitmer defeats Tudor Dixon, GOP Challenger //

EAST LANSING (Michigan)–Republican challenger Tudor Dixon failed Tuesday night as Democrat Gretchen Whitmer won a new four-year term in the office of governor.

According to The Associated Press, Whitmer led with 51.7% of the vote and 46.6% for . Fox News, among other sources, called the race to Whitmer.

Whitmer’s victory against Dixon, a man with a background in business and conservative media, has been celebrated by Mindy Morgan and Matt Pauly, both 51. They voted all Democratic in the midterm election.

Morgan said that there were “lots” of reasons to support Whitmer after casting her vote at East Lansing Hannah Community Center Tuesday morning.

“No. Morgan stated that 1, reproductive freedom was the number one priority. Morgan also said that Morgan did an “amazing job” early on in recognizing the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and that the governor made sure that [access] to abortion was protected.

Morgan stated, “I also think she did an amazing job navigating COVID.”

Pauly stated that he knew Whitmer was criticised for her COVID-19 protocols . However, he added that “we’ve strongly supported her and I think [the protocols] are] one reason why we’re emerging.”

Matt Hall, 23, is about to graduate from Michigan State University. Hall claimed that he voted for Whitmer because Dixon was not the right candidate for him.

Dixon said he would “roll back reproductive right, along with a lot more of the voting rights and other things that are really needed,” adding that “we need these things as a baseline to ensure that things don’t get worse.”

Whitmer supported Michigan’s pro-abortion Proposal3. Dixon opposed it and voters rejected it Tuesday. The Michigan Constitution would have been strengthened if the ballot measure had been approved.

Hall stated that while she is not excited about the prospect for Gretchen Whitmer’s positive progress, “but she was at least something I saw as a bulwark that could prevent some of the really bad things from happening.”

Whitmer ran for reelection using a platform that focused on abortion and economic issues. It also included improvements to state roads and bridges.

Dixon and other Republicans had criticised Dixon and Whitmer for her COVID-19 lockdown measures that closed schools, restaurants, and businesses to in-person learning. Whitmer did not apply any pressure to schools to reopen for in-person learning after they closed for the first time in March 2020.

During a October debate with Dixon, the governor claimed that her COVID-19 policies had “saved thousands of lives.”

In a statement to Bridge Michigan, Dixon stated that Dixon “destroyed our small-business community, stole years from our children’s education, and forced hardworking Michiganders into following her intrusive orders that chose winners and losers.”

Supporters such as Sandy Bloomfield, a restaurant owner, are disappointed by Dixon’s loss.

Bloomfield said that Dixon is struggling to run her businesses during Monday’s rally for Dixon at JB’s Whiskey in Battle Creek, just 5 miles from Battle Creek.

Bloomfield, 61 said that Whitmer was to blame for the challenges she and other business owners are facing.

Bloomfield stated that it wasn’t just COVID. It was all the restrictions placed on us, Bloomfield said to The Daily Signal. It’s not being able to get the supplies you need to run your business. It’s people not going into work and doing their jobs as they used to so that you can do ours. It’s a domino effect.

Bloomfield stated that prices are high and products are in short supply, ranging from chicken to turkey to small, individually packaged cups of cream for coffee.

Whitmer stated, “We know there is global inflation.” It is not a problem that Michigan has. It is not a problem that is unique to the United States. Global inflation cannot be fixed by a governor. But I can put more money into your pockets, which is exactly the thing we did.”

Perry Borden waited for Dixon to take the stage, a flag draped around him shoulders reading “Tuder [sic] Dixon for governor.”

Borden, 49, stated that he works for an energy supplier, and that the business has taken a “big hit” over the past couple of years.

Borden admitted that Dixon wasn’t his immediate support in the primary. But he said that he supported Dixon because “she’s pro-business” with “Trump’s backing.” He also said that Dixon was against policies that “harm our children [such as] keeping them out school.”

Dixon was a strong advocate for improving education and supporting businesses.

Dixon stated that Dixon was going to bring back the businesses that were closed during the COVID-19 lockdowns. “And we’re going do it with a real economic growth plan.”

Dixon exclaimed, “The best thing that we can do to Michigan businesses is make it easier to do work in the state,” to cheers.

The Republican challenger stated that the gubernatorial election was an opportunity “bring back education.” “Go back to basics in reading, writing and math, get the woke stuff out our schools, [and] focus on our children.”

FiveThirtyEight, a polling aggregate website, gave Whitmer four points ahead of Dixon four days prior to Election Day.

Whitmer spoke to the crowd Monday night at her final campaign rally in Lansing. She said that the election could close and possibly even be decided by “a few thousand votes.”

Whitmer defeated Bill Schuette, the former attorney general of the state, by approximately 10 percentage points in 2018.

In the last 100 years, Michigan’s governor’s office has been flipped between Republicans and Democrats nearly a dozen times. From 2011 to 2019, Rick Snyder was the last Republican to hold this office. Jennifer M. Granholm was a Democrat who succeeded Snyder between 2003 and 2011.

Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in Michigan by three points in the 2020 presidential race.

Whitmer means that Michigan residents can expect “more” under his leadership, according to Steven Johnson, a Republican state representative.

Johnson stated that education standards will fall, and Democrats will try to use their platform for their social agenda. Johnson also said that the administrative state will continue to grow.

State Rep. Yousef Rabhi (a Democrat) supported Whitmer’s reelection. He expressed optimism about Michigan’s future and said he was happy for him.

Rabhi stated, “We’re all Americans at the end of it all,” adding that “We’re all here together, this great experiment in democracy, and we must remember that.”

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