Michigan voters decide tomorrow who will face off in the November election for governor, and all seven candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties are making a furious effort to win over the undecided voters in the final hours before ballots are cast. On the Democratic side. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is hoping to do to frontrunner Gretchen Whitmer what Bernie Sanders did to Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary in 2016 – pull off an upset. He brought Sanders in to campaign with him Sunday in Detroit and Ypsilanti as he tried to position himself as the only true progressive in the race.
“Progressives don’t take corporate money,” El-Sayed said. “Progressives stand for healthcare for all, they stand for a universal standard for water, they stand to protect our Great Lakes and move to 100% renewable energy.
Whitmer says she is progressive too, but says potholes and public schools come first.
“To try to tear down your fellow progressive in an effort to boost yourself is so destructive and divisive,” Whitmer said about El-Sayed’s latest tactics. She spent part of Monday filling potholes in metro Detroit. The third Democrat, entrepreneur Shri Thanedar, is trying to cast himself as the only outsider who can take on a career politician like Attorney General Bill Schuette.
“Putting another career politician up against him isn’t going to give enough of a contrast,” Thanedar said. Whitmer has been leading in the polls since the race began.
On the Republican side of the ticket, the focus the last week has been on allegations Attorney General Bill Schuette broke the law by having state workers, on state time, do political and personal work. Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley has been trying to hit Schuette hard on that.
“People whose jobs are political field staff for the attorney general are working on the state dime. It’s really a pretty gross abuse of power,” said Calley. Schuette has continuously dismissed the claims as politics as usual.
“It shows that he is definitely behind and I am ahead,” said Schuette.
The attorney general has a comfortable lead over Calley in the most recent polls, with state Senator Patrick Colbeck a distant third. He, however, doesn’t believe the data.
“The same guys that predicted Trump’s victory way before anybody else say we’re neck-and-neck with Bill Schuette,” said the suburban Detroit Republican.
Dr. Jim Hines has brought up the rear in all the polls, and is hopeful for a surprise on Tuesday.
“The citizens of this state will just have to make a decision,” said Hines.
Polls are open the typical times on Tuesday of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Remember, you have to pick a party and cannot jump back and forth between the Republican, Democratic, or Libertarian candidates. If you do, you’ll have to re-vote.
