LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Late on Friday, former President Donald Trump endorsed Michigan Republican
gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon as the one to beat current Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer in November.

According to a new poll from Emerson College Polling surveying Republican primary voters July 28-30, Dixon has a double-digit lead over her competitors with 41% of Republicans planning to vote for her – with Rinke (17%), Soldano (12%) and Kelley (12%) far behind. Dixon has increased her support by 13 points since the Trump
endorsement.

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In Trump’s endorsement, he called Dixon a “conservative warrior” who will stand up to the radical left. He said Dixon was “pro-God, pro-Gun and pro-freedom, and she won’t be stopped.”

On the flip side, the other Republican candidates have been trying to stop Trump from endorsing her. They’ve been linking her to the DeVos family and attacking her as being the “bought and paid for” RINO in the last few debates and on their social media platforms and in TV ads.

Candidate Kevin Rinke, who self-funds his campaign with millions of his own dollars, has been painting Dixon as the establishment candidate and tweeted “Tudor Dixon is bankrolled by the same folks who tried to illegally remove President Trump from office.

We can’t trust her.” He also tweeted “I’m not bought an paid for like my opponent…”

At a campaign stop on Saturday, Rinke said that that President Trump’s endorsement doesn’t guarantee a win. “The President has lost people across the country where he has endorsed. His candidates – he is batting 50%. It’s not a sure thing.” He added, “candidates win elections, not endorsements.”

Candidate Ryan Kelley targeted Dixon on his Facebook page posts the last week and said, “The establishment handpicked candidate is not who the people want” and “Say NO to the handpicked puppet and YES to Michigan’s freedom fighter.” Even though Dixon has the endorsement of Trump, he added “Tuesday August 2 is a vote between
the Globalist Uniparty vs America First.”

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Candidate Garrett Soldano had pleaded with the president not to endorse Dixon, citing the fact that the grassroots” will be extremely unhappy. Early on Friday, before the Trump announcement, he told his supporters to “flood” Trump’s social media sites to discourage a Dixon endorsement. He said on Facebook, “We need to let the President
know we are not happy.”

Over the weekend, Soldano was still attacking Dixon and talking about the Trump endorsement. On Facebook, he said “Other candidates who’ve spent the campaign in back-room meetings with politicians and special interests – they’re running to serve the status quo, not to fight for us.”

He also warned “Trump endorses a vulnerable RINO.” Soldano also didn’t like Dixon’s answer about voter fraud in Michigan and that she seemed to be backtracking on Trump’s declaration that the election was stolen. Soldano
tweeted about Dixon, “It is clear that Tudor Dixon is putting the interests of those bankrolling her campaign over the issues that matter to conservatives throughout Michigan. Just like the DeVos family, Tudor is turning her back on those who fought for President Trump.”

On Friday, Soldano tweeted a photo of his supporters and said, “This is the only endorsement I need. I will take our grassroots army over ANY endorsement.”

Candidate Ralph Rebandt hasn’t made any statements about the Trump endorsement and his campaign didn’t respond for a comment about the issue.

In addition to Trump’s endorsement on Friday, Dixon also received the backing of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Trump’s former HUD Secretary, Ben Carson.

Republican Betsy DeVos, former Secretary of Education under Trump, had also gotten into the mix by sending a handwritten letter to Trump asking that they all work together to beat Whitmer. Although she resigned her position after the January 6th events, in this instance she asked for Trump’s support of Dixon, calling her the “only one who can stand toe to toe with ‘that woman’ from Michigan.” This letter was sent the same day as the Trump endorsement.