Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and Republican challenger Tudor Dixon met Tuesday night for their second and final debate, in which topics relating to schools and infrastructure took center stage.
Whitmer is running for her second term in office and has come under fire from Dixon for her response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Early voting has already begun in Michigan two weeks before the Nov. 8 election.
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Here are five takeaways from the debate.
Candidates clash over abortion ballot proposal
Dixon and Whitmer clashed over the effects of a ballot measure that would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution during the first question of their second debate. A law prohibiting abortion would have taken effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, but Whitmer filed a lawsuit to block it.
“We know that Proposal 3 does remove parental consent,” Dixon said. “It also makes it so that you don’t have to be a doctor to perform an abortion, but it does align with [Whitmer’s] agenda. In the past, she’s voted against a ban on partial-birth abortion. And Proposal 3 allows abortion up to the moment of birth for any reason, including sex selection.”
In her rebuttal, Whitmer said this is “why you can’t trust anything she’s saying when it comes to reproductive rights” and accused her of saying that “a 14-year-old child raped by her uncle is a perfect example of someone who should not have reproductive rights, the ability to choose.”
“She went further to say it is healing for a person who was raped to carry that child to term,” Whitmer said. “I couldn’t disagree more, and she’s proven you cannot trust her on this issue.”
Fixing ‘the damn roads’ still a top priority
“Fix the damn roads” was one of Whitmer’s campaign promises when she took office four years ago, and she touted her accomplishments in this area while simultaneously acknowledging more needs to be done.
“You know I love talking about the roads,” Whitmer said. “The reason I focus on the roads is because when you have a busted rim, it can be money out of rent, it can be money on childcare. And that’s why fixing the damn roads has been so important.”
She said her administration is trying to go beyond putting a Band-Aid over pothole-plagued roads, saying, “We’re taking the roads all the way down to gravel and rebuilding them. They’re built to last. It’s not just papering over like unfortunately has been done for years prior to me taking office.”
Dixon accused Whitmer of having no plan and not funding the repairs properly when she couldn’t use a gas tax to pay for them.
Pandemic learning loss a major concern for both candidates
Whitmer blamed the “three months” children were out of school during the pandemic for students not meeting educational goals, noting that Michigan is in the bottom 10 worst states for education.
“We’ve also had some historic challenges over the last few years, I think, to put it lightly,” she said.
Dixon disputed Whitmer’s claims that children were out of school for only three months.
“This is shocking to me that she thinks that schools were only closed for three months, or 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,” she said.
Both said they want to push tutoring programs in schools to get children back on track.
Dixon says she stands with parents who oppose ‘pornography in schools’
Dixon said she would stand with parents protesting books with certain suggestive content in school libraries, while Whitmer said it was a ploy by Republicans to drive communities apart.
“We’re talking about pornography in schools,” Dixon said, claiming, “What these parents are talking about are not textbooks that will help children learn about themselves — these are books that are describing to children how to have sex, and parents are outraged about it across the state. I stand with those parents that want to make sure we go back to the basics of reading, writing, and math in our schools.”
Whitmer said, “We also have a duty to make sure that all children feel accepted and safe and can learn and play when they are in school,” adding, “I see politicians try to wedge communities against one another. It is dangerous and it is selfish.”
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Both candidates oppose making children get COVID-19 vaccination to attend school
Following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention group’s vote to support the COVID-19 vaccine being added to the recommended immunization schedule for children and adults, both Michigan gubernatorial candidates said they would not make it mandatory for students in their state.
“I want to be very clear about this: This is a parent’s decision,” Dixon said. “There will never be a mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine for children to go to school in a Dixon administration.”
Whitmer said she does “not support requiring the COVID vaccine for children” before accusing Dixon of promoting conspiracy theories about the vaccine.
Dixon disputed Whitmer’s characterization, pointing out that she has received the vaccine.
