Abortion, education and crime led the first ever debate between Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon Thursday night, showing voters the stark differences between the candidate.
Dixon acknowledged early on that the debate hosted by WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids was the first time many voters would get to hear from her directly. Whitmer and supporting groups have been running a steady stream of TV ads for months, swamping the efforts of Dixon and her allies.
“[The debate] was a really valuable time for us to be able to point out the fact that the governor has been hiding a lot and that the governor hasn’t been honest about her positions,” Dixon said after the debate.
Dixon, who has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump and backing from former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a longtime advocate and funder of school choice and charter schools, said that even though there isn’t much time before the election to gain voters’ support and early voting for this election had already begun last month, she isn’t concerned.
GOP former Gov. John Engler helped prep Dixon for the debate, the Advance previously reported. A second debate will be held on Oct. 25 in Rochester.
Whitmer used the hour-long debate to tout her accomplishments over the last four years and highlight the public stances that her lesser-known opponent has taken on some of the biggest issues in Michigan.
“You’re going to hear a lot of divisive rhetoric and a focus on the past from my opponent,” Whitmer said early in the debate. “Here’s what separates us: I still believe there is more that unites us than divides. I believe in our democracy and I believe in decency, and that’s what I want to focus on tonight.”
However, in her closing statement, Dixon took issue with Whitmer’s argument, saying, “When she sat up here and talked about her bipartisan willingness to work with people, do not be deceived.
“Do not trust her with another four years to terrorize you,” Dixon added.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (L) and GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon (R) at the first debate, Oct. 13, 2022 | Bryan Elser, Courtesy: Nexstar Media Group / WLNS-TV
Here are the big issues from the first debate:
Abortion rights
The first question of the debate was on abortion — and it was also one of the issue upon which the candidates differed the most.
Whitmer, who has centered her actions to protect abortion rights in the state in her campaign for reelection, said Dixon can’t be trusted to accept the outcome of Proprosal 3. The measure aims to codify abortion rights in the state Constitution and will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Whitmer said she’s voting for Proposal 3.
Months before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Whitmer filed a lawsuit in Michigan to repeal the state’s 1931 abortion ban. Planned Parenthood filed a similar lawsuit that same day. An injunction was put in place to temporarily prevent the enforcement of the 1931 law, which was the only thing that prevented abortions from becoming a felony in Michigan the day Roe fell. Since then, a litany of legal fights have happened in Michigan courts, but the injunction stayed.
“The only reason that law is not in effect right now is because of my lawsuit stopping it. When Roe fell, Mrs. Dixon celebrated that. She said it didn’t even go far enough. She said she wanted to make abortion a felony, with no exceptions for rape, incest or health of the woman, and throw doctors and nurses in jail. That is too extreme and too dangerous,” Whitmer said.
Dixon denied these claims, saying that she had never said she wanted to criminalize people. But she has publicly supported the 1931 abortion ban which would carries a felony penalty up to four years for doctors for performing abortions and patients self-administering abortion medication, with no exceptions for incest or rape.
“I am pro-life with exceptions for life of the mother. But I understand that this is going to be decided by the people of the state of Michigan or a judge,” Dixon said.
Whitmer said that it was ironic Dixon said she would support voters’ decision on Proposal 3 when she has questioned the results of the 2020 election that Trump lost to President Joe Biden and has not pledged to accept the results of the upcoming Nov. 8 election.
Dixon stayed mum on this accusation during the debate, but afterward said “people question elections. That’s our right as citizens of the United States.”
Dixon has repeatedly stoked doubt in the 2020 election by accusing Democrats of “sloppy and obvious” voter fraud just days after the election and as recently as May falsely claimed Trump won in Michigan. Trump lost to President Joe Biden by 154,000 votes in Michigan.
As of last month, Dixon would not confirm whether she will accept the results of the Nov. 8 election.
“For her to stand here and say she will respect the will of the people when she has not even embraced the outcome of the last election or pledged to embrace the outcome of a future election tells me we cannot trust what she’s saying,” Whitmer said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at the first debate, Oct. 13, 2022 | Bryan Elser, Courtesy: Nexstar Media Group / WLNS-TV
School safety and crime
A high school student from Grand Rapids submitted a question for the debate, asking the two candidates how they would “keep our schools safe and ensure protection to all Michigan students.”
Gun control has been a conversation long before the mass shooting at Oxford High School last November that killed four students, but it has amplified the issue here in Michigan as people continue to reel from the tragedy.
Whitmer touted the most recent bipartisan state budget she signed that included increased funding for mental health and school safety resources, as well as her support for on secure firearm storage, background checks and “red flag” laws that would allow police to seize guns from individuals if there is “reasonable cause” to believe the person poses a risk to themselves or others.
“As a mom, I’m furious and angry that in this country, and only in this country, the No. 1 killer of children is gun violence,” Whitmer said.
Dixon argued that there should be educators in schools who are allowed to carry guns to fight back against shooters, arguing schools are “sitting duck zones.”
She also pitched her plan to put $1 billion into police departments and to help boost recruitment and retainment of officers.
“We need to make sure that we are tough on crime in this state,” Dixon said.
Dixon criticized Whitmer for supporting “the spirit” of the movement to defund the police after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by Minneapolis police officers in May 2020 and sparked nationwide protests over police brutality. Whitmer has signed state budgets since that have boosted funding for police.
Whitmer said Dixon has shown she supports the “Second Amendment before second-graders every time.
“My opponent is proposing policies that increase guns, decrease oversight and eliminate gun free zones. That’s not going to make us any safer,” Whitmer added.
GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon at the first debate, Oct. 13, 2022 | Bryan Elser, Courtesy: Nexstar Media Group / WLNS-TV
State budget and economy
After the state’s economy was hard hit by the pandemic in winter 2020 when Whitmer and other governors closed businesses and enacted other health measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, Dixon says Michigan is farther behind economically than it should be.
A total of 2,861,595 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 and 38,919 people have died from the virus.
A recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Michigan is down 82,000 jobs since Whitmer took office and has been bouncing back slower than other states after the pandemic.
Michigan, along with the rest of the country and other nations, is also dealing with high inflation rates, impacting the cost of fuel, food and other essentials.
Whitmer said she can’t unilaterally fix inflation, but is trying to address it by expanding financial accessibility to post-secondary education and job training and boosting the auto industry.
Dixon also attacked Whitmer for not holding her 2018 campaign promise to repeal the pension tax and lower the state’s income tax.
Whitmer said she has done what she could do to compromise on taxes while working with a GOP-controlled Legislature, but she isn’t going to “play those games” with Republican leaders.
“When the Legislature sends me a bill and tells you they’ve cut your taxes, but they know secretly that none of it even goes into effect until 2023, I don’t play those games,” Whitmer said. “You deserve honesty. You deserve solutions. You deserve leaders who can work together and deliver for you and your family. That’s what we’ve been doing,”
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
SUBSCRIBE
authored by Allison R. Donahue
First published at https%3A%2F%2Fmichiganadvance.com%2F2022%2F10%2F14%2Fwhitmer-stresses-bipartisanship-in-debate-while-dixon-says-she-has-terrorized-the-state%2F
Comments are closed.