The hour-long televised debate marked the first time in state history that two female major-party gubernatorial candidates shared a debate stage together. It was contentious throughout, as Dixon criticized Whitmer’s record as the state’s chief executive and the incumbent repeatedly said her opponent wasn’t real. The two women immediately raised questions about their positions on abortion, nearly four months after the US Supreme Court overturned half a century of abortion rights nationwide, while Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban is still blocked by judges in the Michigan Court of Claims and the Oakland County Circuit Court. Dixon, who has previously said she does not support abortion in cases of rape and incest, argued that a proposal on the Nov. 8 ballot that would enshrine abortion in the state constitution would block the governor’s ability to regulate or authorize abortion. . “I’m pro-life with exceptions for the life of the mother, but I understand that’s for the state of Michigan or a judge to decide,” Dixon said. Dixon accused Whitmer of supporting abortion at all nine months of pregnancy, citing Whitmer’s earlier vote against banning partial-birth abortions. Whitmer rejected Dixon’s claim, noting that her lawsuit filed in April seeks to preserve the status quo and current abortion restrictions, which include a ban on partial-birth abortions. “The only reason the 1931 law doesn’t apply is because of my lawsuit,” Whitmer said, referring to a state abortion ban that had been unenforceable since 1973, when Roe was in effect. The debate between Whitmer and Dixon came the same week the Republican Governors Association began airing its first ads promoting the GOP nominee, and as more than 264,000 voters have already returned their absentee ballots and another 1.4 million voters have their ballots in hand, according to data from the office of the Secretary of State. After Thursday night’s debate, Whitmer said the event was the first time she had met Dixon. “The rhetoric you hear on the campaign trail is exactly what we saw here tonight,” Whitmer told reporters. “So I don’t think there were any real surprises.” One of the issues on which Whitmer took issue with Dixon’s answers was Proposition 3, a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. Dixon, who opposes abortion, said she would always accept the will of the voters. Whitmer responded by criticizing Dixon’s previous statements questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election. “I think it’s really ironic that Mrs. Dixon stands here and says she’s going to accept the will of the people,” Whitmer said. “This is a candidate who continues to deny the outcome of the 2020 election. This is a candidate who will not commit to accepting the outcome of the November 8 election.” After the debate, Dixon addressed Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist’s previous criticisms of the Detroit election. Gilchrist ran unsuccessfully for city clerk in 2017 against incumbent Janice Winfrey. “People are questioning the election,” Dixon told reporters. “This is our right as citizens of the United States.”
Whitmer, Dixon Spar on schools, pandemic, police support
On school safety, the candidates argued over how best to address school violence and gun violence. Whitmer said she supported background checks, safe storage and red flag laws, and argued that Dixon wanted more guns, less oversight and the elimination of gun-free zones. The governor said challenging her would put the “second amendment in the hands of second-graders every time — and we can’t let that happen.” Dixon argued that Whitmer could have used more federal money to harden schools over the summer, but “nothing happened.” Last month, training videos surfaced from the Michigan Department of Education for teachers working with LGBTQ students that promoted withholding information from parents of suicidal students that the student was gay or transgender. The state department of education, Dixon said, “has now come out and said there are times when we can hide a dangerous situation from parents … we’ve never seen anything like this before. We are in really scary times.” As governor, Whitmer does not control the Department of Education, which is constitutionally autonomous and controlled by the elected state board of education. But Whitmer CEO Tricia Foster sent a letter to the state school’s superintendent Michael Rice, encouraging him to “continue to bring parents’ views into the work you do” and focus on reading, writing and math. Thursday’s debate also became testy as the candidates tackled Whitmer’s decision to close thousands of businesses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 and keep the restrictions in place until mid-2021. Whitmer defended her actions during the pandemic, claiming they saved thousands of lives. The lives lost mattered, Whitmer said, and urgent action was needed to limit the toll from the virus. “If I could go back in time with the knowledge we have now, I definitely would have made some different decisions,” Whitmer said. “But we were working in the middle of a crisis and lives were on the line.” Dixon argued that Whitmer’s response was disastrous for the state, especially when it came to policies affecting nursing homes, unemployment payments, school policy and business closings. Republicans clashed with Whitmer throughout the pandemic over her handling of many aspects, but most notably her decisions on long-term care facilities. Whitmer closed visits to many nursing homes early in the pandemic and focused on caring for seniors with the virus in isolated areas of current nursing homes. Lawmakers called for those people to be held in separate facilities to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In March, Attorney General Dana Nessel said further investigation into how the state tracked COVID-19 deaths at long-term care facilities was “unwarranted” after an Auditor General’s Office report found that its criteria state tally of long-term care deaths had excluded 2,386 deaths from COVID-19. The report, Nessel wrote, did not support allegations that the state health department intentionally underreported or misrepresented the number of deaths from COVID-19. Dixon accused Whitmer of advocating defunding the police movement and cited her veto of money for secondary road patrols in 2019 in a series of annual budget vetoes. She also pledged her support from the Michigan Police Officers Association. “We’re going to make sure that not only are they supported, but they have the tools they need, they have the technology they need and they have the mental health help they need,” Dixon said. Whitmer pushed back against Dixon, arguing that she had won the support of the police in her four years in office. He touted other bipartisan budgets that hand money to law enforcement agencies for training, hiring and payments to their pension funds. “My opponent is long on rhetoric and short on facts,” Whitmer said. In June 2020, Whitmer said she supported the “spirit” of efforts to defund police in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, a statement her office later clarified did not indicate support for eliminating funding for law enforcement, but a re-prioritization of resources for issues such as mental health interventions. “It should be so embarrassing for the governor that he’s actually on tape saying he supports the spirit of defunding the police,” Dixon said.
Candidates discuss changing car insurance
When asked about inflation, Dixon criticized Whitmer for her vetoes of tax relief proposals and a gas tax break sent to her by the Republican-led Legislature. He also noted that the governor also supported closing Line 5 — a decision that could raise some propane and fuel prices in the state. “He doesn’t care about the money in your pocket. she likes the political benefit,” Dixon said. Whitmer defended her work over the past four years, noting that she and the Republican-majority Legislature had made child care and tuition statewide more affordable. She argued that the tax relief packages sent to her by the Legislature would not take effect until 2023, when immediate action was needed. “I don’t play those games,” Whitmer said. “I veto these games.” More: Tudor Dixon’s gubernatorial campaign faces crucial week: ‘We’re going to prove them all wrong’ Whitmer reiterated her pledge to repeal the pension tax and increase the earned income tax credit. “One governor can’t fix global inflation, but what we can do is help you keep more money in your pocket,” he said. The candidates also fought to reform no-fault auto insurance, whose key provisions limiting medical payments for past accident survivors are currently on hold pending an opinion from the Michigan Supreme Court. The bipartisan legislation was signed into law by Whitmer, but the governor has expressed support for policies that restored service rates for those injured before the law took effect. “I’m willing to work with the Legislature,” Whitmer said. “Republican leaders have not yet come to the table, but I will be a willing partner when they are ready to do so.” Dixon criticized the governor’s response, after months of Whitmer touting $400 rebates that were, in part, possible because of rate cuts for those survivors. “He knew these victims were looking for compensation, but he still gave it to try to buy your vote,” Dixon said. More: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she’ll serve a full four-year term if re-elected Moving on to the discussion, many public…
