TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – At the latest GOP gubernatorial debate on November 20 in Traverse City, candidate and Oakland County pastor Ralph Rebandt didn’t bother softening his stance on immigration. Pressed on how he balances pastoral compassion with a tough- on-crime approach to deportation, he said it was straightforward: “If you come into the country the right way, you deserve due process. If you don’t, you don’t deserve due process going out.”
Rebandt went on to characterize the situation as a “mass invasion” affecting both the country and Michigan, arguing that the consequences are no longer abstract. He referenced the heartbreak experienced by a pastor friend whose daughter was killed in Michigan by an illegal immigrant driver who, he said, couldn’t speak English. The emotional example underscored his broader point: that immigration enforcement, in his view, is inseparable from public safety.
John James is a no-show again.
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The other takeaway of the evening was U.S. Rep. John James’ continued absence from the podium. Traverse City’s event was the third Michigan GOP gubernatorial debate in the span of three weeks and the third one that James did not attend. The Traverse City debate was also a GOP fundraiser and was moderated by independent journalist Dave Bondy and Mackinac Center VP of Marketing Jarrett Skorup. In addition to debating in Traverse City, the candidates previously debated in Sparta and Roseville.
The GOP candidates in attendance in Traverse City were Genesee County truck driver Anthony Hudson, Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, former Attorney General Mike Cox, pastor and candidate Ralph Rebandt, former House Speaker Tom Leonard, and anti-property-tax advocate Karla Wagner.
The explanation.
James campaign spokesperson Hannah Osantowske emphasized the campaign’s fundraising edge before adding that “Recent polls indicate that John James is the favorite to become Michigan’s next governor. John will consider a primary debate once the field is set and will be speaking directly to Michiganders in the meantime.”
Taking on James’ absences.
James’ opponents have taken aim at the missing congressman during their opponent’s absences. Nesbitt said, “I want to thank my colleagues for actually showing up here. The first step of winning next year is actually showing up…” At the first debate, Nesbitt had a milk-carton centerpieces printed with a photo of James and the words “Missing.”
Cox added to the argument, “We don’t grow Michigan by electing people who don’t show up to work, by electing people who are abandoning President Trump’s majority in the House and now abandoning all of you,”
At the Traverse City event, Nesbitt pointed out James’ absence once again, saying, “He’s been dodging debates longer than the democrats had the government shutdown. And that’s wrong. You expect to hear from all of us.”
What the other candidates said.
Michigan News Source reached out to the other candidates about their positions on James’ absences. Leonard’s campaign responded by saying, “Tom has said all along that he won’t speak for other campaigns and that each candidate has to be accountable for their own words and actions. So, as it pertains to James not attending these debates, that’s really a question only John James can answer. Second, Tom has been consistently clear that the issues the state faces are bigger than any one person. What Tom is committed to doing is promoting his vision on how to turn this state around and to continue traveling the state, listening to people and the challenges they face and then identifying real solutions that provide tangible results.”
Hudson – a relative unknown until his recent “unity” walk in Dearborn that took a controversial turn – blasted the other candidates for skipping his rally after he personally invited them. When asked about James’ absences at the debates, Hudson told Michigan News Source, “Job Jumpin John James thinks he’s Joe Biden and can run a campaign from his basement! John, Listen to President Trump and keep your seat in Congress where you can be useful, drop out of this race and for once show that you respect what Donald Trump is asking of you! You’ve turned your back on the people of Michigan and they will not forget. If you stay in this race, your political career will be over in August 2026!”
Wagner did not respond to our request for comment.
What the Democrats said.
The Democrats chimed in as well. After the Traverse City debate, the Michigan Democratic Party released a statement saying that James dodged another debate in an “ increasingly fraught Republican primary” and pointed to a report from WLNS’ Tim Skubick who said that the candidate is splitting the party and causing “vicious infighting.”
They went on to say, “On the debate stage tonight, the Republican candidates for governor will race to the far-right and fully embrace Donald Trump’s catastrophic agenda that is causing prices to skyrocket, rural hospitals to shutter, and people to lose their health care coverage. Whichever candidate ultimately emerges from this chaotic and messy primary will be wildly out-of-touch and too extreme for Michiganders.”
In the end, the Traverse City debate revealed different storylines, including a crowded GOP field eager to draw contrasts on policy and personality and a frontrunner who continues to dodge the debates. Whether Rebandt’s hard line on immigration, Hudson’s embrace of Dearborn residents, or James’ repeated absences end up defining the race remains to be seen as Republicans head towards the next stretch of the campaign.
