The relentless attacks lobbed from the debate stage shared by the three Republican candidates to be Michigan’s next governor belied their agreement on key issues, from eliminating the state’s income tax to cracking down on immigration.
For an hour, former Attorney General Mike Cox and businessman Perry Johnson slammed U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, who brushed off criticism as “BS” during the Wednesday, July 8 debate on Fox 2 Detroit (WJBK-TV).
Moderator Roop Raj at one point scolded the candidates, saying everyday people are tired of the political squabbling. Cox, in responding to Raj’s admonition, said that the intensity reflected James’ past absence from past candidate debates. James said that during the last candidate forum, he was in Washington, D.C., voting, though James has also come under scrutiny for missing more votes than any other member of Michigan’s congressional delegation during the current session.
Most of the audience questions came from political insiders who were not introduced as such, including one who used to work for James. Unlike both of his opponents, James declined to answer reporters’ questions following the debate.
In the upcoming Tuesday, Aug. 4 primary, voters will decide which man in the three-way Republican race will receive the party’s nomination for governor. (Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, still appears on the ballot but he has dropped out of the race and endorsed James.)
The Democratic primary features Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cannot run again due to term limits.
Republican governor candidates talk Trump
As James played up his endorsement from President Donald Trump, Cox retorted that James has had the president’s endorsement in the past and lost, a reference to James’ two unsuccessful statewide runs for U.S. Senate. Cox emphasized that he’s the only candidate in the race who has ever won statewide office. “I don’t need the president’s endorsement to be a fighter,” Cox said. James noted that he has since won a competitive congressional election for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, and noted how much time has passed since Cox was last elected in 2006.
The candidates generally brushed off a question on how they would push back against a Trump policy that hurts Michigan. Johnson balked at the idea, saying, “I find it very unlikely that that is ever going to happen.” Still, he said that Trump is “very rational” and is someone he could reason with if needed. None of the candidates broke with Trump on any major issue that has defined the second term of his presidency.
James also amplified Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen in an attack on Cox, saying his opponent “would probably say that President Trump lost in 2020 when the election was rigged.” In fact, Cox has previously refused to say whether Trump lost.
Johnson, meanwhile, styled himself in Trump’s mold, describing himself as a political outsider who will use his business acumen to transform state government. Noting that he’s self-funding his campaign, Johnson said that he is “not beholden to anyone.”
Candidates support tax cuts in Michigan
Johnson repeatedly talked about his plan to eliminate the state income tax, a goal all of the candidates in the race share. Johnson warned that soon Michigan will become “Taxigan.” The income tax is the state’s largest revenue source. Eliminating it would blow an estimated $14 billion hole in the state budget, which candidates have said they would fill by cutting what they deem wasteful and fraudulent spending without specifically laying out how they would realize that savings.
James also said he wants to cut the gas tax, which lawmakers recently came together to dedicate to road funding as part of a major bipartisan deal. Cox noted his support for finding ways to reduce the gas tax following the debate.
While candidates talked about tax savings they hope to give Michiganders, they didn’t talk about other cost of living challenges, from child care to health care, when affordability challenges are expected to define the midterm election.
Where they landed on Michigan data centers
James joined Johnson in calling for hitting the brakes on bringing new data centers to Michigan. Even as Johnson calls for a moratorium on the energy- and water-intensive facilities expanding across the U.S. to warehouse servers to power the generative AI boom, he has released elaborate AI-generated videos mocking James. “Maybe I have some staffers that used AI, and I know that AI is being used more and more, but that doesn’t mean that we have to have all these data centers,” Johnson told reporters after the debate. James also hit Johnson for indicating that he used ChatGPT to come up with his plan to eliminate the state’s income tax. “That’s actually stupid,” Johnson said.
Cox said that he wants local communities to make decisions about data centers.
The debate marked the first time all three candidates appeared together on television, and it came amid calls from Republican leaders to unite behind the president’s pick. Johnson expressed some concern about the GOP infighting that dominated the debate stage. “Anytime that you have to beat each other up and argue like that, it’s probably a negative. It’s not a great way to go. I don’t dispute any of that. That’s a fact, and I would rather not have to do that,” he told reporters. Cox said the spats are inherent to the primary process. “All apologies to everyone. They get a little ugly,” he said to reporters.
The candidates meet next on the debate stage on Thursday, July 9.
(This story will update.)
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lots of attacks, not much daylight in GOP primary debate for governor
Reporting by Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
