“I think Gretchen Whitmer has been the best partner the city has had in decades, and I will be supporting her.” – Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan
LANSING — Last Friday, news broke that James Craig would be announcing his retirement today and stepping down as Chief of Police for the City of Detroit, kicking off a flurry of speculation over the weekend that he would announce a run today.
Instead, Craig dodged several questions and refused to detail his position on several issues, most notably the #1 post-2020 GOP litmus test — whether or not the election was stolen from Donald Trump. One reporter asked several questions, saying clearly: “do you think – the 2020 election – there was fraud, widespread fraud?”
But instead of answering, Craig refused to denounce GOP lies about the last election, saying “I’m not going to talk about politics today.” (WATCH)
As reporters continued to inquire about his policies, the only thing Craig went on the record to say was that he has been a Republican for just the past decade, apparently a new disclosure. When asked directly how long he had been considering a statewide run, Craig said “frankly, I’ve never really considered it.”
Meanwhile, more fringe candidates are jumping in by the day and dragging this crowded Republican primary to the far right. Last week, MLive broke the news that conservative media personality and vaccine skeptic Tudor Dixon was getting serious about a run, joining a crowded field that already includes pseudoscientist Garrett Soldano and insurrectionist Ryan Kelley.
“Well, this is clearly not how Republicans both in and out of Michigan wanted today to go. Following months of recruitment failures, the MIGOP was so desperate they signaled a not even half-baked candidacy, as James Craig dodged questions and showed how extreme he is by refusing to denounce the GOP’s conspiracies about the 2020 election,” said Rodericka Applewhaite, MDP spokesperson. “The only thing they managed to do was give the fringe candidates weeks to pick apart Craig’s record and ideological credentials. This is the direct result of the strong leadership Governor Whitmer has displayed throughout this pandemic. While Republicans scramble to find someone that can hit the ground running, Whitmer’s been focused on vaccinating every Michigander and reopening our economy.”
