Michigan governor candidates Dixon, Whitmer make final pitch to voters

Tudor Dixon closing run for governor with busy end to campaign

The Republican nominee for governor Tudor Dixon said she would prioritize helping boost reading literacy among Michigan students and prioritize funding for police departments if elected to office.

(FOX 2) - Nominees for governor are in the final stretch of a long campaign season that will end with election day Tuesday.

Both Republican Tudor Dixon and Democrat Gretchen Whitmer were on FOX 2 Monday to make last-day pitches for any undecided votes this season.

Dixon honed in on failing reading rates among grade students in Michigan and crime rates in cities in the state, saying she would prioritize both at the beginning of her term.

Whitmer tied her candidacy to the issue of abortion and bodily autonomy, arguing both are on the ballot and her reelection as governor will have sway over the issue going forward even with a ballot measure that puts the subject to voters.

"No one else would be able to make that decision, and the governor certainly shouldn't be telling her what she can and can't do," she said, speaking with FOX 2.

Gov. Whitmer makes final pitch before election day

The Michigan governor is making her final pitch for why voters should cast their ballot for her after a long-fought campaign season. Gretchen Whitmer is defending her seat against Republican Tudor Dixon.

Dixon lamented Whitmer's handling of the pandemic, pressing the problem of a poor business environment in Michigan making it harder to attract new companies to the state. As governor, she said she would want to mimic other states like Tennessee and Texas, saying both are friendlier to incoming business.

"I hear from companies across the state who say they can't do more in this state," she said.

Michigan Midterm election: See a sample ballot before you vote Nov. 8

Both candidates were busy this weekend with each touting their rallies and campaign events across Michigan. Each is pulling in major political forces like Barack Obama and Mike Pence to aid in their quest for the governor's office.

Both Dixon and Whitmer have focused on the past four years, with the incumbent touting her record of bringing in business for electric vehicles, working with the Republican legislature to balance budgets, boosting investment in public infrastructure, and promising to protect reproductive rights.

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

Her Republican challenger has keyed in on the state's faltering education system, how involved parents should be in that system, as well as tying the "defund the police" movement to Whitmer and violent crime.