GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – During the first all female race for Michigan Governor debate in Grand Rapids, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Tudor Dixon faced off on various policy topics ranging from gun control to abortion viewpoints.  

“I grew up in this community – 10 miles from here – I grew up in a household that was bipartisan,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, “And we had very different perspectives, but we shared values, and that’s how I know if we stay focused on what really matters, it’s a lot easier to see we all want the same things.” 

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She mentioned several policies in her 90 second introductory remarks including: schools, job opportunities, safe roads and communities.  She also referenced the 900 bills that she has signed in her four years as governor – all of which bipartisan according to Whitmer.  The governor also projected that her opponent, Tudor Dixon, would use divisive rhetoric and a focus on the past.  

“I still believe there is more that unites us than divides us, I believe in our democracy. I believe in decency, and that’s what I am going to focus on tonight and every moment I am governor of this great state,” Whitmer said. 

Dixon began her first remarks and was excited that tonight would perhaps be the first time many Michiganders would hear from her directly. 

“I am a mom, I am a wife, I am a cancer survivor, and I am a worker,” Dixon said, “I used to work many hours on a shop floor in a steel foundry, and I owned a small business that was crushed by lockdown measures in this state, like many of you.” 

She continued by expressing her awareness of having children out of school and the difficulty in getting them back on track. She called the last four years disappointing at best and remarked how everything is more expensive, communities are less safe, job creators are struggling to create jobs, and our schools are worse, and the roads still haven’t been fixed. 

“She’s going to try and attack me tonight to distract from her broken promises – her record of broken promises,” Dixon said, “But I am going to focus on the future.”

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“I am going to talk about how to make Michigan freer and more prosperous; we’re going to forge a family friendly future,” she said. 

Of the more than dozen questions asked, roughly a third of them featured video submissions from residents of Michigan.  The final question discussed how the candidates would approach the auto reform bill, and the injured affected by it.  

One of the most disputed questions pertained to education. 

Whitmer acknowledged her five generations of Michigan public school educated family and how this was a personal topic for her. 

“I know that education is what levels the playing field and what creates opportunity for every person,” Whitmer said, “And that’s why I worked with the legislature in a bipartisan manner and we delivered the biggest investment in public education in Michigan history.” 

She said that she and the legislature had closed the gaps between districts, invested in tutors, accomplished “luring” in teachers.  She closed by stating that Betsy Devos was bankrolling the Dixon campaign, and that Dixon would want to take out half a billion out of Michigan Public schools. 

“She says she closed the gap, but really she closed the schools,” Dixon replied.  

Adding, “When the Detroit public schools closed longer she remained silent, when the Flint Public  schools closed their schools down again, Gretchen Whitmer was silent,” she said, “In fact in the midst of the pandemic when the legislature said they would give her money for reading scholarships, one of her people came out and said ‘smelled too much like vouchers,’ because they don’t want parents to have control.”