Half of Washtenaw County Republican Voters Supported Trump-Backed Candidate for Governor

Fifty percent of Washtenaw County Republican voters cast their votes for Trump-backed gubernatorial challenger Tudor Dixon. The Associated Press has called the primary in favor of Dixon who captured 40.2 percent of the 871,863 votes cast in a five-way race for the Republican nomination. Dixon will face Democrat Gretchen Whitmer in the Nov. general election. The only other county in Michigan where GOP voters cast a larger percentage of their votes for Dixon was Gogebic County. There, 57 percent of Republican voters chose Dixon over her four rivals.

Just two days before the primary election, during a TV appearance Dixon was asked whether she thought the 2020 presidential election had been stolen.

Dixon, appearing on Fox News Sunday, redirected the conversation to what she alleged were “legitimate concerns” about the way the election had been conducted. Dixon talked about her support for strict voter ID requirements and other changes she would like to see made to state election law.

Political pundits have suggested that the redirect suggests a move in Dixon’s position away from the “big lie” promoted by former President Donald Trump. Her non-answer came just two days after Trump endorsed Dixon. The former conservative media personality will face Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was renominated without opposition on Aug. 2.

Dixon, addressing supporters at a downtown Grand Rapids hotel, reportedly “took sharp aim at Whitmer.” Dixon criticized the governor’s “lockdown orders during the early days of Covid while pressing her own ‘family-friendly’ agenda.”

“Now we have the opportunity to truly hold Gretchen Whitmer accountable for the pain she’s inflicted on each and every one of us during the past four years,” Dixon said.

In an emailed statement after the race was called, Whitmer campaign spokesperson Maeve Coyle said that Dixon “will drag Michigan backwards.”

In a statement, Lavora Barnes, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, said Dems would “continue to hold Dixon accountable for her disastrous plans and baseless conspiracy theories.”

This year’s election for governor in Michigan is expected to have a major impact on the 2022 presidential election.