With two weeks until Election Day, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican Tudor Dixon squared off on a number of topics in their second and final debate Tuesday night.
The women were first asked about abortion, which has been a central issue in the race, though voters will be the ones to decide on a ballot measure over whether to enshrine the right in the state constitution. Both candidates disagreed over what would be allowed under the constitutional amendment, with Dixon calling it the “most radical abortion law in the country,” and Whitmer saying it would simply restore abortion rights.
Gretchen Whitmer is lying to Michigan voters about what Proposal 3 would really do.
— SBA Pro-Life America | 72% 🇺🇸 support 15 weeks (@sbaprolife) October 26, 2022
Thank you @TudorDixon for sharing the facts at tonight's #MIGOVDEBATE:
Proposal 3 WOULD remove parental consent for abortion, and WOULD allow abortion through all 9 months #MIGov pic.twitter.com/6afL9Po1RK
Gretchen Whitmer was asked twice in the last debate if she supports any limits on abortion. She refused to answer, because she has no limits on abortion.
— SBA Pro-Life America | 72% 🇺🇸 support 15 weeks (@sbaprolife) October 26, 2022
There's no more extreme position on abortion than hers.@TudorDixon at #MIGOVDEBATE: pic.twitter.com/RVNuU8olv0
On the topic of COVID-19, Whitmer claimed children were only kept out of school for three months.
"I worked closely with my Republican and Democratic governors and kids were out for three months," she said. "The fact of the matter is education is what levels the playing field for people, and we've under-invested in it for decades."
Dixon countered that some children were kept out much longer than that.
“I'm pretty sure I just heard an audible gasp around town when Gretchen Whitmer said that kids were out of school for three months,” Dixon said. "Perhaps she wasn't paying attention to what was actually happening. We even had schools that were closed this year. Maybe she thinks she can convince you that schools were only closed for three months, but you know better because your students are the ones that are desperately behind."
Holy crap, @GovWhitmer really said kids in Michigan were only out of school for three months? Some kids in Michigan were out of school for YEARS. pic.twitter.com/fAR2oAROdC
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 26, 2022
On the topic of inflation, Dixon said Whitmer "has not done anything to help," and pointed out that the Democrat vetoed a GOP measure to freeze the 27-cent-per-gallon gas tax in the state.
Gretchen Whitmer: “We never raised the gas tax.”
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) October 25, 2022
Fact check: She tried, and failed, to TRIPLE the Michigan gas tax - 45 cents a gallon. After pledging never to try to do so.
.@TudorDixon: "Even though in 2018 she stood on the debate floor and said it was nonsense and ridiculous, the idea of her raising the gas tax to pay for roads, it was one of the first things that she tried to do when she was in office." #Election2022
— Andrew Roth 🎃 (@RothTheReporter) October 25, 2022
Whitmer says tax holiday bills she vetoed "didn't even take effect until spring of next year."
— Andrew Roth 🎃 (@RothTheReporter) October 25, 2022
This is true, because Democrats in the Legislature voted against giving the bills immediate effect. #Election2022
“A governor cannot fix global inflation, but what I can do is put more money in your pockets," Whitmer noted.
It’s clear from tonight’s debate that @GovWhitmer wants to hide from her record of shutting down schools, pushing for the highest gas tax in the nation, and permanently shuttering small businesses. It’s a record anybody wanting to win re-election would run from.
— Aric Nesbitt (@aricnesbitt) October 26, 2022
One point of agreement between the women came on the topic of COVID-19 vaccines for children.
"I will never push the COVID-19 vaccine on your children that is your choice, and it will always be your choice, as long as your governor," Dixon says.
— Samuel J. Robinson (@samueljrob) October 25, 2022
"I do not support requiring vaccines for children," Whitmer says.
RealClearPolitics rates the Michigan governor’s race a toss-up, with Whitmer currently up 3.2 percentage points in the average of polls.