PONTIAC, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – It was the debate that wasn’t heard ‘round the world.

With only six days left to go until the August 2nd primary, the republican candidates vying for the chance to go up against democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer in November probably would have liked to make their case to all of the voters in Michigan last night but they were limited in that attempt because the debate wasn’t televised or live-streamed anywhere.

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The debate was sponsored by the Oakland Republican Party and News/Talk WJR Radio 760 AM and it was only seen by the attendees at the UWM Sports Complex Auditorium in Pontiac and it was only heard by those who listened on WJR Radio station or listened on their website.

The five candidates in attendance, as described by the debate moderator were: Kevin Rinke from Bloomfield Township, a business owner; Ralph Rebandt, Farmington Hills, pastor, Oakland Hills Community Church; Tudor Dixon from Norton Shores, former steel industry executive, conservative commentator; Ryan Kelley from Allendale, real estate broker; and Garrett Soldano, from Kalamazoo, a doctor of chiropractic medicine.

James Craig, who is running as a write-in candidate, was not invited to the debate.

For most of the hour during the debate, discussions were centered around policy issues and describing what the candidates thought was wrong with Gretchen Whitmer and her administration.

The moderator asked about critics’ claims that Governor Whitmer had mishandled the pandemic by abusing her authority, hurting the state economy and increasing the death toll in places like Michigan’s nursing homes. He wanted to know what they would have done differently.

They all agreed that the lockdowns were wrong and putting COVID-19 patients in nursing homes was the wrong thing to do. They pointed out that Whitmer didn’t use medical science in her decisions. She ignored legislators and behaved unconstitutionally.

Rinke said “the draconian lockdowns that were inflicted upon us not only disrespected our structure of government but disrespected our laws and common sense.” He pointed out that more than 65% of the people who died under COVID-19 were our vulnerable seniors and the governor ignored putting them in “safe spots” where beds were available and never utilized.

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Dixon said Whitmer’s problem is that she thinks she’s the smartest person in the room and won’t admit when she’s wrong.

The candidates were also asked how to “fix the damn roads” and if taxes would be raised to do it. Rebandt said he wanted to take money from colleges and universities where it’s not needed and cut over 1K administrators in state government to fund the roads.

Kelley, Soldano and Dixon all said that the funding needs to be allocated properly and in order to fix the roads, state officials need to work with the local communities to get needed information to do the job right.

Soldano said that in his campaign travels all over the state, it was like going through Fallujah. He said the roads seem to degrade every few years and we need to fix them long term.

The next question was about what voter reforms they would put in place to insure fast, accurate results and build more confidence in our elections.

All of the candidates agreed that we need common sense solutions to have fair and free elections which includes things like voter ID, signature matches, cleaned up voter rolls and getting rid of voter fraud.

Kelley said that we also need to have uniform ballot printing and we should get rid of ballot drop boxes. Both Kelley and Rinke warned that we shouldn’t vote for the voting proposal in November (Promote the Vote 2022) that amends the state Constitution because it’ll put “some very radical into our laws that may be difficult to change.”

Rinke got a laugh when he said “I got criticized because I called for the Democrats who were voting to be alive.” He talked about the political machines breaking voting laws and regulations. He doesn’t like mail-in voting for everyone except for the Armed Forces and special situations but he supports early voting with validation of who you are.

Rebandt, who said he witnessed voter fraud at the TCF Center in Detroit the day after the election, wants same-day results. He also wants watermarked paper ballots that people can hand count so we have a record of who has voted.

The next question from the moderator was concerning the redefining of common words by the democrat party including changing the word “woman” to “a person who menstruates” or a “birthing person” some of which are in official state documents. The moderator asked if they agree with the trend and how they would reverse it.

None of the candidates went along with this new Democratic trend. Kelley said “the left is really good at manipulating words and creating emotions out of it…” He went on to say that the left wants us to participate in their illusion and that we have to be “unapologetic about being truthful.”

Soldano said that even though everyone is laughing, it’s not funny. He called it “hot garbage.”

Rinke said in his world, there are boys and girls and men and woman and he won’t negotiate and he “won’t give an inch” on the woke issues. He said Biden and Whitmer have failed our country and our state and they continue to recommend “crazy-ass ideas that don’t represent our country or my Michigan.” He concluded by saying it wasn’t a joke, “it’s a sickness and we need to cure it.”

Dixon said there was definitely a war on women going on. She said that being called a “menstruating woman” and it’s the last thing she wants to be called. She also pointed out the war on moms. She said that motherhood is hard and women want credit for it. She also pointed out that the taxpayers are the ones paying to change all of the documents to use the woke words of the democrats and it’s “a bunch of baloney.” She said “that’s why we we will
fight back against this and we’re going to say no, you’re not going to take our identity away.”

The next topic was about gas prices and what the candidates would do to lower them after Whitmer vetoed ways to reduce taxes.

Soldano wants to eliminate the state gas tax and work on long term solutions. Rinke believes that eliminating the personal income tax is the answer to give $12 billion back to the people. Rebandt would suspend the gas tax and said we need to support our budget by selling our natural resources like copper, silver and iron ore. Dixon warned that Whitmer wants to eliminate of Line 5 which will increase our gas prices and that we need to become energy independent. Kelley said we need to drill in Michigan and not push the green new deal and the climate
change hoax.

The final question of the night was to ask them each why they believe they are the best candidate to go against Whitmer.

Rinke said that a business leader is needed and told the voters about his experience in healthcare, automotive, private and business, and that he worked in Lansing for 30 years and he understands how it functions. He said that the voters need to put somebody in office “who’s got the experience to help you based on their years of proven examples of such. Don’t send someone to Lansing to learn on the job…”

Rebandt said that he has a lot of business experience and has been a carpenter and janitor and a laborer. He said, “I’ve done everything that you’ve done. I’ve worked every job that you’ve done. I’ve walked every path that you’ve walked.” He says that after spending $22 trillion dollars in the last 60 years, there is nothing to show for it with more incarcerations, more addictions and more broken families. He said that his 35 years of a pastor has given
him “unique insight into healing the family and repairing the state.” He said the voters haven’t sent a pastor to Lansing yet – a pastor who cares about people more than he cares about politics.

Dixon said that the “goal is to get Gretchen Whitmer out of office and even the Democrats today are saying that I’m the best person to get Gretchen Whitmer out of office because they’ve launched a $2 million attack ad against me. Even my opponents on the stage would say that I’m the best person to win this election because they’re attacking me as well. Kevin Rinke changed his ads from being pro-Kevin Rinke to being against Tudor Dixon and then he
quadrupled down on them…”

That was when the civility ended. Rinke asked for a rebuttal and said, “you just listened to our version of Gretchen Whitmer.” He said that Dixon is, “the only candidate in this campaign that is operating with a path that is funded by a wealthy family from the west side of the debate to the tune of over $2.5 million (DeVos family)…the truth hurts…fess up.”

Kelley talked about the elitists – the uniparty – and said the left has been going after him, trying to take him off the ballot and filed suit against him as an insurrectionist. In a shot at Dixon, he added, “I am not bought and paid for.”

Soldano said that “unlike the establishment candidate (Dixon), I have been holding her (Whitmer) accountable. He talked about spearheading the Unlock Michigan Petition. He concluded by asking Dixon a question about Matt DePerno and it went downhill from there with the candidates eventually running out of time, unable to continue their crosstalk and any rebuttals. The moderator told them they were out of time and could say whatever they wanted
in their closing comments.

In closing, Soldano talked about needing leadership and unity. He said the Republican Party is fractured and there is “the establishment, the old guard, and we the people” and said “there’s a lot of shenanigans going on behind the scenes with our establishment trying to bring down the candidates backed by the people.”

Kelley said that things are going to get worse in the country if we don’t make “the right decisions and do the right things.” He says it’s “so worth it” that we put up this fight right now. He said he’s been meeting with people “to make sure that we do get this right and our message gets out there.”

Dixon said that she’s been running her campaign as a “policy first governor” and presenting a positive vision for Michigan that is family friendly. She pointed out again that the people on the stage have been attacking her. She said, “they attack me and people hate it just so you know that’s what they’ll do with Gretchen Whitmer and that’s why women will come out in droves and say they don’t want a bully in the governors’ office.”

Rebandt talked about how many people think our glory days are over. He said we are in a “spiritual battle for heart and soul of our kids and grandkids. If we don’t get it right in this next election, if we don’t get God right in this next election, we will lose it all.” He wants to serve the people, not roll over you as Whitmer did, serving the community for 35 years as a pastor and police chaplain.

Rinke said that the job is a “businessman’s job.” He said it’s a tough job and that people want honor, integrity, a proven track record and respect – someone to serve you. He said he doesn’t have any other career goal other than to serve you as Chief Executive Officer. He said he can beat Whitmer, not as a bully, but because he’ll hold her to her results. He said he’ll talk facts and not shy away from the truth.

The latest polling out of Mitchell Communications & Research commissioned by MIRS and the Detroit News both have Dixon in the lead of her opponents by 4 to 8 points plus or minus their margins of error. It looks like a close race between the top three candidates Dixon, Rinke and Kelley with no endorsement from former President Trump forthcoming.