LANSING, Mich. – Michigan governor candidates are butting heads after a controversial political advertisement was released online.
That ad was done by the Michigan Republican Party and it alleges Democratic Party candidate Gretchen Whitmer failed to prosecute serial sexual abuser Larry Nassar.
The advertisement makes the claim that Whitmer failed to prosecute Nassar when she was the Ingham County prosecutor.
Whitmer held a press conference Friday, accompanied by several survivors of Nassar's abuse, a local sheriff and two fellow prosecutors.
She calls the advertisement "shameful."
Whitmer said she referred the Nassar case to Schuette's office, when he was the state attorney, because the abuse took place in multiple counties. Schuette, for his part, said the case came to him from Michigan State University's police chief and maintained she declined to prosecute.
Last year, the Detroit News obtained emails from MSU's police chief to Schuette, thanking him for moving quickly on Nassar and adding that the victims will now have an advocate.