Tudor Dixon, who defeated a crowded field of Republicans to become the party's nominee for governor in Michigan, told Newsmax Saturday that the message her campaign sent is that "hard work and family values are winning right now."
"We knew this was going to be a hard race from the beginning," Dixon, whose campaign had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend." "We knew that we would have to put in the work and meet with people across the state for the first year, which is what we did, and we had a great message coming out and talking about bringing back schools."
In Michigan, the state's schools are 38th in the nation and are on the path of being in the bottom five by 2030 without changes, but "parents are engaged in a way they've never been engaged before," said Dixon.
COVID shutdowns under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have particularly hit the state's schools hard, so "we are going to bring back education and also our state's cities," said Dixon.
"Our schools, especially our students, are behind," said Dixon, noting she's spoken with parents whose children can't get caught up after the COVID shutdowns.
"In the state of Michigan our literacy exams just came back and 50% of our third graders failed," said Dixon, adding that in Detroit, 90% of the students failed.
"The governor had the opportunity to pass a bill that would have allowed reading scholarships, but she doesn't like the idea of anything going to parents [or them] having any control over education, so she vetoed that bill," Dison said.
The candidate also said that under Whitmer, Michigan's cities are also facing crime problems while she talks about defunding the state's police departments. "We need to bring back respect for rule of law and make sure that they have the funding they need to keep our city safe," said Dixon.
Whitmer's administration and her bureaucracy are also making the state an unfriendly environment for job creators, she commented.
Meanwhile, Whitmer, who is seeking reelection, has a massive war chest and is a strong political presence both statewide and nationally, and Dixon said the key to defeating her will be for her campaign to win over Democrats and independents.
"I think it's this family-friendly approach, that we're not going to only make sure that we get back on track and education, but we're going to help families get there," said Dixon.
The nominee further said that her campaign is pushing for a reduction of taxes, as "we're in the top 10 in the nation for taxes on the middle class. We have an opportunity to say we're going to make it less expensive and more exciting, and more prosperous to live in the state of Michigan."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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