With voting about to begin, Republican candidates have entered the final sprint toward the Tuesday, Aug. 4 primary election, competing with one another for President Donald Trump’s endorsement, with some embracing his penchant for AI-manipulated videos.
Poll shows highly competitive Republican primary for Michigan governor
While past polling has generally shown U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, with a comfortable lead in the race, one recent poll suggests the contest has become a toss-up, with a three-way race between James, former Attorney General Mike Cox and businessman Perry Johnson. Like previous surveys, the latest one from Mitchell Research & Communications, Inc. for insider capitol newsletter Michigan Information & Research Service Inc., shows Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, continuing to lag behind the others.
The Mitchell poll conducted June 11-13 asked 404 likely Republican primary voters if the election were held today, who they would support. Twenty-eight percent said James, 27% Cox, 23% Johnson and 4% Nesbitt. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points and was conducted by sending text messages to a random group of Michigan voters with an online survey.
While Cox celebrated his neck and neck poll numbers with James, saying it shows he “has all the momentum in this race,” James and Johnson campaigns pointed to internal polls each showing them with respective leads.
Will President Donald Trump endorse in Michigan governor’s race?
As the candidates fight over poll numbers, they’re also battling for Trump’s support, which pundits say could sway the primary race. But it’s not clear whether Trump will weigh in at all with his focus on federal races to keep GOP congressional control.
A Trump endorsement could win over Republican voters to the president’s preferred candidate but some political observers say it would be toxic in a general election, pointing to the president’s low approval numbers and the cost pressures facing Americans under his watch. But Democrats say that regardless of Trump’s intervention in the GOP primary, the Republican nominee will be tied to the president’s agenda, which they have all supported.
Some Republican candidates embrace AI videos
Trump’s policies aren’t the only thing Michigan Republican candidates have embraced. Some have released videos using AI that mirror the kind of content Trump puts out on his Truth Social media platform.
Nesbitt’s campaign videos embrace election conspiracies, showing a fictional Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson — the Democratic frontrunner in the Democratic primary for governor — bringing undocumented immigrants to the U.S. to vote, for example. They depict Nesbitt on a tractor as a kind of conservative warrior who, in one scene, appears to almost run over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Nesbitt described the videos as “entertainment” in a Detroit Free Press Editorial Board interview.
Johnson has also embraced AI. One video shows him walking onto the mat of the Ultimate Fighting Championship Trump birthday celebration at the White House to face off against James, dodging James’ punches and pushing him aside. “You had your chance twice. You always lose,” said Johnson, referring to James’ two unsuccessful bids for U.S. Senate.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump, AI videos take stage as GOP gubernatorial primary heats up
Reporting by Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
