Campaign trail heats up with Dixon, Whitmer making stops across SE Michigan in race for governor

FOX 2 (WJBK) - As November 8th draws closer Michigan’s gubernatorial candidates refuse to slow down.

On Friday GOP candidate Tudor Dixon and Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hit the campaign trail looking to secure their base and win over undecided voters.

"I don’t care how loud you are, I don't care if you're loud or quiet," Dixon said. "But go out and vote and get other people to vote."

"This is a high-stakes election and we’re working hard every minute until the last vote is counted," Whitmer said.

Governor Whitmer is touting her record which she believes proves she can get the job done.

"We’ve made a lot of progress here in Michigan," Whitmer said. "Whether it’s the historic investment we’ve made in public education or it's rebuilding roads and infrastructure.

"We’ve got to continue to move forward there’s a lot at risk in this election."

But Whitmer pointed to her successes - her opponent painted a different picture, pointing a finger at Covid protocols backed by the governor.

"Those people that took care of us our whole lives they died alone and we were not allowed to be there," Dixon said. "And I know this because it happened to me. My grandmother was in a nursing home.

"I look out on this crowd and I see people crying and it’s so upsetting to me because, this is what happened to us."

But if elected Dixon says not again.

"That doesn’t ever happen again in the state of Michigan," she said.

But Whitmer believes a Dixon administration is not progress.

"The question is are we going to go backwards and undo the work we’ve done in economic development, the investments we made on public education, protecting women's ability to make their own decisions about our lives and bodies," she said.

Whitmer’s campaign stop right in Royal Oak brought out a familiar face from Washington DC - Pete Buttigieg.

The Secretary of Transportation showed up as a concerned Michigander, having moved to the Traverse City area earlier this year.

"As a citizen and Michigander it’s very important to me to especially now that I have a son and daughter, Chastin and I are raising in this state," he said. "We need good leadership."

But Dixon believes a good leader is someone who follows the rules they set for others, pointing to when the governor apologized for not adhering to social distancing rules inside an East Lansing restaurant.

"We remember this whole thing, Gretchen Whitmer is different than us - right? Rules for thee but not for me," Dixon said.

Two very different candidates with two very different visions. And it is now up to the voter to decide which one will lead Michigan.