Nov. 3: Tudor Dixon: Michigan GOP governor candidate’s issues, biography, controversies
Nov. 3: Gretchen Whitmer: Michigan governor’s issues, biography, controversies

Tudor Dixon is a former conservative news host, businesswoman and breast cancer survivor who is now the Republican nominee for Michigan governor.

Dixon won the GOP primary with support from the DeVos family of west Michigan and a late endorsement by former President Donald Trump. She topped the five-candidate field with roughly 40 percent of the vote to set up a matchup with Democratic incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the Nov. 8 general election. 

Related:

• Website: Tudor Dixon
• Gretchen Whitmer: What to know about Democratic Michigan governor
• Dixon, Hernandez ticket prevails in contentious Michigan GOP convention
• Drag queens and MAGA: Tudor Dixon fights culture wars in Michigan governor bid
• Tudor Dixon touts work at Michigan Steel. Foundry struggled to pay bills.

The Norton Shores Republican has never held political office but contends she’d bring a fresh perspective to state government. 

About

Dixon, 45, grew up in Illinois and graduated from the University of Kentucky with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She moved to Michigan in 2002, when she went to work at a Muskegon steel foundry her dad had purchased. She lives in Norton Shores with her husband and four daughters. 

Background

Dixon worked as an executive at Michigan Steel before leaving the family firm to start a family in 2009. She dabbled in acting, appearing in a low-budget horror movie and vampire series before launching a conservative student news service and hosting a daily news program on the right-wing Real America's Voice streaming network. 

Issues

Dixon opposes legal abortion except to protect the life of the mother. She has made public safety, the economy and opposition to public school “indoctrination” key planks of her campaign for governor. 

Dixon has proposed a four-year, $1 billion plan to recruit and retain police officers and other public safety personnel to quell a rise in violent crime. She’s also launched an “Open For Business” tour to criticize Whitmer’s pandemic policies. 

The GOP nominee says she wants to “phase out” Michigan’s personal income tax, but she has acknowledged that would have to be done gradually to avoid major budget cuts. The state’s current 4.25 percent income tax generates $12 billion a year in revenue for state and local governments.

Dixon in September called on the state superintendent to resign over LGBTQ training videos that advised teachers to avoid exposing a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity to parents in some instances. 

She supports a DeVos-backed plan for student scholarships to private schools and told Bridge she would back a Michigan-version of Florida’s Parents Rights in Education law, which would prohibit any instruction related to sexual orientation or gender identity before fourth grade.

Controversies

Dixon has touted her work in the steel industry as evidence she is prepared for "tough battles" as governor. While she says revenues grew during her tenure at Michigan Steel, records show the company was repeatedly sued for failing to pay suppliers. Three years after she left, the company laid off the entire workforce and liquidated the company. 

Dixon has echoed Trump's debunked claims the 2020 election was marred by widespread voter fraud. In a primary debate, she said she believes Trump won Michigan despite officially losing to Joe Biden by 154,188 votes. In tweets before she was running for office, Dixon claimed the election was stolen and accused Democrats of "obvious" and "sloppy" voter fraud.

Dixon has also joked about a militia plot to kidnap Whitmer, which has so far resulted in two jury convictions, two plea deal convictions and two acquittals.