DETROIT, MI – Polling shows James Craig, a former Detroit police chief, has a comfortable early lead in next year’s primary for Governor, and is tied with incumbent Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is in a virtual tie with Republican Chief James Craig in the 2022 gubernatorial race, according to a poll. https://t.co/gSHFJ56L1C
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) August 24, 2021
Craig’s support has surged since making his campaign announcement earlier this month after having to move the announcement location mid-way through after Left Wing activities disrupted the event.
Polls conducted by Strategic National, whose CEO John Yob is advising the Craig campaign, indicate that Craig enjoyed a good early bump following the disruption, and is poised to take command of the race. Yob commented to Breitbart News in an exclusive report on the polls:
“Chief Craig has built a massive lead in primary polling as we head into the critical Mackinac Island Straw Poll this weekend. The General Election is now tied as the violent actions of the leftist radicals pulled the Chief even with Governor Whitmer.
“The Chief has significant room to grow against Whitmer as his name identification improves among the 35% of voters who do not yet know of him.”
James Craig enters gov’s race, vows to get message out over protesters https://t.co/bJqNXkdjjU via @detroitnews
It’s likely @GovWhitmer @MichStatePolice and @FBI hands are dirty. Big Gretch is scared, so did Nancy’s soldiers staged the “protest” and cops turning their backs?
— JustSayin’ (@susanraeg) September 15, 2021
600 likely voters who responded to the general election survey conducted between September 18 and September 19 found that Craig is only 0.6 percent behind Gov. Whitmer. In the survey, 46.6 percent of likely voters said they supported Whitmer, and 46 percent said they were backing Craig. The spread is well within the survey’s margin of error of four percent.
A poll measuring the incumbent governor’s approval rating stood at 50.5% “favorable,” 35.1 percent “very favorable”, and 15.4 “somewhat favorable”.
A whopping 42.2 percent of likely voters said they view Whitmer as “very unfavorable,” and 6.4 percent “somewhat unfavorable.” Those results placed her negative rating at 48.6 percent.
Yob pointed out that the poll was consistent with others conducted on the general election.
A Glengariff Group poll released Monday found that 48 percent of voters approved of Whitmer’s job performance, while 46 percent disapproved.
2022 #MIGov General Election Poll:
Gretchen Whitmer (D-Inc) 47%
James Craig (R) 46%
.
Gretchen Whitmer (D-Inc) 46%
Tudor Dixon (R) 41%Strategic National/@chiefjamescraig (R) Internal ~ 600 LV ~ 9/18-9/19https://t.co/uNx3jlGQzk
— PollTracker (@PollTrackerUSA) September 20, 2021
The poll, commissioned by the Detroit Regional Chamber, showed a marked shift from September 2020, when 59 percent of voters approved of the Democratic governor’s job performance. At that time, Whitmer enjoyed a 59 percent approval rating, with only 38 percent disapproving.
The same poll conducted in May found that her approval rating slipped to 50 percent of voters, while 44 percent disapproved.
Yob said the polling showed a toss up in the race for governor between Craig and Whitmer:
“The Strategic National polling is very similar to the Detroit News polling that showed Governor Whitmer’s approval tanking since their previous survey.
“The Michigan Governor’s race is now a tossup between Governor Whitmer and Republican conservative Chief James Craig as the Republicans prepare to gather on Mackinac Island this weekend.”
Poll: Whitmer Crashing in Michigan, Majority of Independents Turn Against Her https://t.co/id4t5KW28t
— Sharon (@SweetFreedom29) September 21, 2021
Strategic National’s poll gives Craig a commanding lead over his primary rivals. In their primary poll of 400 likely voters. Craig garnered 39.7 percent of the potential vote.
Garrett Soldano, a Kalamazoo chiropractor, came in a distant second place in the survey at just 9.9 percent, while Tudor Dixon, a former conservative media personality, came in an even further distant third place at just 1.3 percent, and self-funding Detroit businessman Kevin Rinke fell even further back at just 0.1 percent.
Craig, a political newcomer, served as the police chief of Detroit from 2013 to 2021. Prior to that service, he served as chief in Cincinnati and Portland.
During his announcement of entering the race, Craig said he would not run a “dictatorship,” hinting that Gov. Whitmer was not communicating with communities:
“I talk a lot about law enforcement because I spent 44 years, but I don’t want you to feel like I’m in a little box and that’s all I know. But I do know leadership works.
“Leading means sitting down with people and having meaningful conversations. This is not a dictatorship.”
Whitmer [D-MI] even less popular https://t.co/zDwpUDEmnL
— Georgia Log Cabin (@GeorgiaLogCabin) September 21, 2021
He added that, despite being vaccinated for COVID-19 himself, he would not issue mandates, something Democrats have been enacting and pushing for across the country:
“What are we becoming? Making mandates? Making mandates to get vaccinated? Are we becoming socialists? Communists? What about choice?
“The inconsistent, incompetent response to the pandemic by so many politicians just further highlights the need for new leadership.”
Gov. Whitmer allegedly used man’s private jet to visit Florida while telling locals to abstain from traveling
May 7, 2021
LANSING, MI – According to reports, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer allegedly used a Detroit man’s private jet back in March to visit Florida – despite the governor having been vocal about telling locals to abstain from travelling.
The Governor lied about the trip, commandeered a private jet from businessmen with important projects in Michigan, and cast herself as the victim when she was criticized.
Odious.
Whitmer Took Businessmen‘s Plane to Florida: ‘Can‘t Tell a Governor No‘ https://t.co/juzmbLyIb2
— Nan Hayworth, M.D. (@NanHayworth) May 6, 2021
According to a report coming from Deadline Detroit, the following was noted regarding Governor Whitmer’s Florida trip that was previously undisclosed:
“When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was outed last month for a secretive trip to Florida in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, her office claimed Michigan taxpayers did not foot the bill.”
“What they did not tell us, however, is that Whitmer asked a group of wealthy Detroit businessmen to provide a private plane they share.”
“Those businessmen have major dealings in and with the state of Michigan.”
Reportedly, these “businessmen” from Detroit had wound up reaching out to Detroit Deadline to profess the strange happening of Governor Whitmer contacting them regarding the booking of a personal flight:
“We wondered why she reached out to us instead of booking a private charter. You can’t tell a governor no. Who needs that kind of trouble?”
This private jet owned by these businessmen is reportedly managed by the company Air Eagle, which it is unclear whether Governor Whitmer had reimbursed the owners of the aircraft for the trip to Florida to visit her ailing father.
https://twitter.com/downi75/status/1390124055454441473
On May 6th, Governor Whitmer was asked about the use of this private jet, to which she afforded the following comments in response:
“I’ve said everything I’m going to say about my trip to check on my father. I’ve got nothing to add.”
The Michigan governor then went on to cite how she’s received threats against her life as being reason enough to not answer questions related to the aforementioned:
“We don’t discuss my travel. I have received an incredible number of death threats over the last year and a half.”
Detroit-based political consultant Adolph Mongo offered some extremely critical commentary regarding Governor Whitmer’s alleged used of a private jet to fly out to Florida:
“She said she was going to see her sick daddy, but that’s not a legitimate political expenditure. What it is, is a political favor. She asked. She got on their plane. Now she owes them one.”
What is most concerning about this purported use of a private jet is whether or not Governor Whitmer paid out of her pocket to do so or wrote it off as an expenditure. Reports say that the jet she used was a Gulfstream G-280 twin jet, which is a business jet that can typically hold up to 10 passengers.
To put matters into perspective, jets of said size can cost as much as $8,000 an hour to charter – and she flew from Michigan to Florida, and then back. Direct flights from Michigan to Florida take about 4 hours one-way, meaning the private charter could’ve cost as much as $64,000.
More questions and controversy surrounds Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s trip to Florida to visit her sick father in March. https://t.co/1MwI98w60a
— Local 4 WDIV Detroit (@Local4News) May 7, 2021
But another element that is serving as a point of contention is that roughly two weeks after returning from Florida, Governor Whitmer told folks in Michigan that they had best not visit Florida due to a variation of Covid purportedly spreading throughout the state.
Michigan Republican Party executive director Jason Roe is among those critical of Governor Whitmer not living up to her “Sunshine Plan” that boasted of being transparent during her campaign for governor:
“She ran a campaign based on transparency but has been the most opaque governor in Michigan history. I guess by ‘sunshine’ she meant the Sunshine State.”
Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today? With so much “stuff” happening in the world on social media, it’s easy for things to get lost.
