Kevin Rinke, Garrett Soldano and Ryan Kelley all took a turn criticizing Dixon’s endorsement record, which includes the DeVos family endorsement.

MORE NEWS: Black Friday Retail Sales Expected to Shatter Records This Year

Rinke said Dixon “wouldn’t even be here without the Devoses,” adding that she earned the endorsement because she can be controlled.

“The fact of the matter is, the DeVos family owns you,” he said. “You’re our version of Gretchen Whitmer. You’ll say anything or do anything to get elected.”

The comparison to Whitmer wasn’t a compliment, with candidates throughout the debate criticizing the current Governor for her policy and recent passage of the budget.

But when Dixon criticized Whitmer’s vetoes relating to abortion, Kelley responded that the debate focus should be on Dixon’s own policy.

“​​We shouldn’t be asking what the current Governor is going to be doing,” he said, “because she’s done after this election cycle.”

Soldano also criticized Dixon, not only for her endorsements but also for her lack of protest against pandemic-era shutdowns, asking, “where were you?”

Dixon responded that she has spoken out on air against lockdown practices, but she attempted to focus more on policy than rebuttals.

MORE NEWS: A Reason to Be Thankful: Michigan Gas Prices Drop Below $3 Per Gallon

“I want to talk about tourism,” she said in response to Soldano’s prompting.

However, she did quip that Soldano went to a meeting to try and earn DeVos support, which he vehemently denied.

Dixon also criticized her opponents for focusing on attacking her campaign instead of securing their own endorsements.

“I’ve been doing all the work behind the scenes. I’ve gotten the endorsements,” she said. “My opponents, what have they been doing? They’ve been talking at you. They’ve been puffing up their chests and they’ve been running silly attack ads against me because they thought it was a popularity contest.

“They didn’t realize it was about serving you,” she said.

Dixon’s approach throughout the debate set her apart from other candidates, said John Truscott, owner of communications firm Truscott Rossman and former Gov. John Engler’s spokesperson.

He said Dixon’s broad cross section of endorsements is appealing to a wider audience, unlike Kelley and Soldano, who he said are appealing to only the fringe of voters.

Kelley said there have been widespread attempts to silence him. “They’re not trying to silence any of the rest of you,” he said to the others.

“I got arrested. I got kicked off Airbnb,” he added.

And Truscott added that Soldano’s interruptions and attacks appeared immature and could hurt him ahead of the primary.

But Soldano may have set himself apart with his more aggressive approach in this debate, said Dave Dulio, an Oakland University professor of political science and director of the Center for Civic Engagement.

Kelley also took a more aggressive approach, calling Rinke out for several lawsuits in the early 90s, which he said involved a use of racial slurs and sexual harassment of employees.

But Rinke responded that lawsuits, “didn’t define me then and they don’t define who I am now.”

He said the people that sued him ended up with nothing, comparing that fight to a future battle with Whitmer he says would end in a “dead deal.”

Only Ralph Rebandt stayed out of the action, something he said gave him an edge because “I wasn’t the one looking like a fool out there.”

He said his focus was on policy and not “cutting down everybody else.”

The candidates did agree on several questions, including the use of critical race theory in schools.

Kelley said his first day in office would include terminating all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion positions in public schools, and Soldano echoed that teachers should “get back to the basics,” including critical science, critical math and critical reading.

All five candidates agreed on the elimination of critical race theory in schools.

They also took similar stances on mental health and gun violence, saying more funding for mental health is necessary but not at the expense of Second Amendment rights.

*/ ?>

And before the fireworks started, all five Republicans agreed on the importance of foster care reform and more adoption resources in the event of a total abortion ban.