2022 MI Governor's race: on Principles & Values
James Craig:
Claimed that protestors against him were paid to be there
Craig made his official campaign announcement in a press conference on Detroit's Belle Isle. Craig couldn't even get a word in, as he was quickly swarmed by Detroit Will Breathe activists against police brutality. Craig used the opportunity to
level wild, baseless conspiracy theories in the style of Donald Trump, saying that the Department of Natural Resources, which runs the state park, purposefully chose not to protect him, and said that he believed that the protesters were paid to be there.
Source: Detroit Metro Times on 2022 Michigan Gubernatorial race
Sep 15, 2021
James Craig:
This is about leading from the front & keeping people safe
[On police reform]: "This is about leading from the front; keeping people safe, which is a core responsibility; solving problems--that's what Michigan needs," the former police chief announced in a campaign-style video. "I led as chief of police--
and began my life--on the streets of Detroit. Now, it is time to travel the state and visit other communities."
Source: The Epoch Times on 2022 Michigan Gubernatorial race
Jul 22, 2021
James Craig:
Rejects objections to police graduations held in church
Despite objections, Craig said he'll continue using churches for graduations and other events. "We stand firm," the chief said. "As an option, we'll continue to use houses of worship for our graduations. That doesn't mean we're forcing our religious
beliefs on anyone. One factor is, these churches donate the space, so there's no cost to taxpayers... This saves taxpayer money, and it saves money to the families of our graduates."
Source: The Detroit News on 2022 Michigan Gubernatorial race
Jan 1, 2020
James Craig:
Michigan is the embodiment of the American dream
[On campaign philosophy]: "Michigan, in so many ways is the birthplace of American middle class and the embodiment of the American dream,"
Craig said. "Unfortunately, this promise, that American dream, seems so uncommon to so many people. That's a problem."
Source: The Holland Sentinel on 2022 Michigan Gubernatorial race
Sep 14, 2021
James Craig:
Won't back down to liberal wokeism & woke corporations
[On cancel culture]: "I will never back down to liberal wokeism," he said.
He also complained of "woke corporations." Their agenda isn't "about working together."
Source: Deadline Detroit on 2022 Michigan Gubernatorial race
Jul 6, 2021
Tudor Dixon:
Calls for liberating Michiganders from lockdowns
The other hopefuls, meanwhile, are working to assert themselves as plausible nominees largely by leaning into issues and ideas pushed by Trump and right-wing media figures. Tudor Dixon is a conservative news host on the same network that features former
Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who has made adherence to the stolen election lie a litmus test for GOP candidates. She channels Trump on her campaign website with a call for "liberating Michiganders from lockdowns."
Source: NBC News on 2022 Michigan Gubernatorial race
Jun 19, 2021
Tudor Dixon:
Pro God, pro life, pro gun and pro freedom
Dixon regards herself as an optimist, "wife, mother and cancer survivor" who is "pro God, pro life, pro gun and pro freedom."
Her campaign leads on a promise of "the mother of all comebacks" for Michigan.
Source: Bridge Michigan on 2022 Michigan Gubernatorial race
Aug 2, 2022
Tudor Dixon:
Acted in low budget films as a hobby
As a hobby, Dixon says she was also an actress in films made by aspiring filmmakers in Kalamazoo. Between 2008 and 2012, she co-starred in a locally-filmed drama
called "Lexibaby," played a teen "bopper" eaten by zombies in "Buddy BeBop vs the Living Dead" and was a leading vampire in a web series called "Transitions."
Source: Bridge Michigan on 2022 Michigan Gubernatorial race
Aug 2, 2022
Gretchen Whitmer:
Hateful rhetoric makes people much more fearful
I have been the recipient of so much ugliness and hate often stoked by the former president. This is a really scary moment. And with the proliferation of the ugly rhetoric, the scary proliferation of guns in America, and the fewer and fewer
restrictions, I think that any parent who sends their child to school, any politician or policymaker who makes a hard decision, we now have to be much more fearful on a whole new level.
Source: CBS Face the Nation on 2022 Michigan Gubernatorial race
Jul 26, 2022
Tudor Dixon:
Recommended stealing 2020 election then "calling for unity"
Dixon falsely claimed at Republican primary debates that Trump was the legitimate 2020 winner in Michigan, where Biden actually defeated Trump by more than 154,000 votes, and that there was fraud sufficiently widespread to have swung the election to
Biden.In a reply Dixon tweeted to Trump in November 2020, she falsely wrote, "Steal an election then hide behind calls for unity and leftists lap it up."
Dixon has sometimes taken a somewhat softer line, complaining about the election without
calling it stolen. She said in July that there was enough fraud "that we have to be very concerned," adding, "I don't think we can see enough of the evidence because we weren't able to look back and some of that is destroyed now." (It isn't clear what
she was talking about.) Dixon dodged when asked if she thought the election was stolen, saying instead, "Well, it's certainly a concern to a lot of folks here in Michigan because of the way the election was handled by our secretary of state."
Source: CNN on 2020 Election Denial in 2022 Michigan Governor race
Sep 9, 2022
Page last updated: Feb 14, 2023