This past Saturday, several Republican gubernatorial candidates descended on Washington Township to display their continued commitment to relitigating past elections.
Tudor Dixon – who was uniquely singled out for her efforts to undermine democracy – was joined by a number of her opponents including chief “neophyte” James Craig, “prolific junk faxer” Perry Johnson, and out-of-touch millionaire Kevin Rinke. Ryan Kelley and Ralph Rebandt were also in attendance.
Though Michigan’s election results were certified years ago and have subsequently been backed up by more than 250 audits across the state since, all 12 GOP gubernatorial candidates have either stoked distrust around our democratic processes or committed to support legislation that will make it harder for all Michiganders to vote.
Craig and Dixon – along with Garrett Soldano who was not in attendance himself but had a booth set up – have all expressed support for an Arizona-style “audit” in Michigan, despite the multi-million dollar sham exercise reinforcing the fact that there is no evidence of fraud and actually netting more votes for Biden than in the certified results. Kelley participated in the violent insurrection on January 6th as one of the thousands spurred on by the belief that the White House was stolen from former President Trump. Rebandt has claimed that fraud impacted the outcome of 2020, without evidence.
Johnson has already used his millions to televise his election conspiracy theories that have propped up dangerous lies about the 2020 general election in order to undermine public trust in the electoral process and impose severe restrictions on voting. He also endorsed “conspiracy-peddling lawyer” Matthew DePerno’s bid for Attorney General and then stood beside him at Mar-a-Lago cheering on false claims that the election was stolen.
And between his issues page and intro ad, Rinke made the baseless claim that “2020 election was rife with administrative problems, leading to a tainted election” and pledged to “audit the voter rolls” – an extreme step that even the most vocal candidates on this issue have yet to take in their crusade to undermine public trust in the electoral process and limit Michiganders’ freedom to participate in democracy.
MDP spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite issued the following statement:
“Over the weekend, the crowded Republican gubernatorial field communicated to Michiganders that their top priority is reversing a secure and fair election that concluded two years ago. Despite months on the trail, candidates like James Craig, Tudor Dixon, Perry Johnson, Kevin Rinke, and Garrett Soldano haven’t managed to prioritize issues that impact Michigan’s future with the same energy they’ve spent on the past. Our working families depend on forward-looking leadership that will keep them first.”
