KEVIN RINKE

Voters in Grosse Pointe Shores weren’t entirely thrilled with the slate of candidates in two primary races Tuesday. In the Republican gubernatorial primary, the Shores favored Tudor Dixon 52 percent (269 votes) to 34 percent (174) for Grosse Pointe Farms native Kevin Rinke, but there was a total of 34 write-in votes, including 31 on

Michigan will hold its 2022 primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 2. You can track results from the GOP race for governor below.

As we await the official results from Tuesday’s primary, we spoke to political experts about the influence former President Donald Trump has on the race.

First, five candidates for governor were disqualified from the ballot. Then, the FBI arrested another one. After Tuesday, Michigan Republicans still face the biggest challenge yet — Gov. Whitmer.

Several little-known Michigan conservatives are vying Tuesday for the Republican nomination to face Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, as infighting over the 2020 election has split the party and threatens to hobble the GOP's efforts in the...

For the majority of the primary season, “undecided” has been ahead of any candidate in polls — leaving much up in the air. But on the evening before election day, at least two polls indicate Dixon may have pulled away from her four counterparts. He called Trump’s endorsement “a very, very big mistake” because of Dixon’s backing from establishment figures such as the DeVos family. DePerno is one of Michigan’s most prominent proponents of unfounded election fraud conspiracy theories and received an early endorsement from Trump. Ryan Kelley is confident he can beat Gretchen Whitmer and federal chargesRalph Rebandt wants to make sure Michigan gets God right in November

Watch Flashpoint every Sunday at 10 a.m. on Local 4 News and Local 4+.

This week’s political rundown is looking forward as we countdown to the final days leading up to Michigan’s primary elections on Tuesday, Aug. 2. The candidates— Garrett Soldano, Ralph Rebandt, Kevin Rinke, Tudor Dixon and Ryan Kelly— made their final arguments days before the primary election during a debate in Pontiac on Wednesday night. Related: Haven’t mailed in your absentee ballot yet? She recommends returning your absentee ballot in person because it may take too long in the mail. If you’re voting in person, check out the Michigan Voter Information Center to verify your voter registration and find your polling place.

Ahead of next week’s primary election, the five GOP candidates for Michigan governor weighed in on the topics that matter most to voters.

We’re just days away from the primary, and the five Michigan Republican candidates for governor are pushing for your vote Wednesday night as they go head-to-head in their final debate. So far, the field has remained relatively close in the polling, especially between Tudor Dixon and Kevin Rinke.

Republican C\candidates for Michigan governor made their final arguments — and in-person attacks — days before the primary election in a debate before their largest audience of the campaign season in Pontiac Wednesday night. Gretchen Whitmer in November, with the attacks ads being aired against her as proof. “You’re our version of Gretchen Whitmer,” Rinke retorted, using a line from last week’s debate. primary’s final stretchAfter the debate, Dixon said Rinke’s attacks were only reinforcing her point. Read More:Whitmer attracted 31,600 out-of-state donors in $9.5M fundraising haulDid Trump’s endorsement help Michigan House, Senate candidates?

Local 4 is asking the Michigan GOP candidates the same questions ahead of the Michigan Primary Election. Each candidate has a different opinion on the important topics that Michiganders care about. On Tuesday, the topic was based on the economy in the state and what they would do to help fight inflation.

Local 4 is asked the Michigan GOP candidates the same questions ahead of the Michigan Primary Election. Each candidate has a different opinion on the important topics that Michiganders care about. On Tuesday, the topic was based on the economy in the state and what they would do to help fight inflation.

With the Aug. 2 primary one week away, members of MLive’s political team gave a brief overview Tuesday of what voters can expect to be the most closely watched races on the ballot. Several nail-biting congressional primaries are also expected, including in the 3rd U.S. House district where U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Grand Rapids) will take on former Trump administration official John Gibbs. In the 11th U.S. House district, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Waterford Township) will battle U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Township) to see who can keep their seat in Congress. Watch the full overview on MLive’s Facebook page, or above via YouTube. More from MLive:Campaign finance filings show gubernatorial candidates’ pathways to victoryMichigan abortion rights, voting access ballot decisions expected in AugustDid Trump’s endorsement help Michigan House, Senate candidates?

With the primary election just one week away, MLive’s political team will be hosting a Facebook Live at 12 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, to give a rundown of what voters can expect on the ballot Aug. 2. Biggest of those races will be the Republican gubernatorial primary. Redistricting has also shaken up several races for the U.S. House, and put the state legislature in a much more competitive spot than in years prior. These issues and more will be covered by MLive’s senior political reporter Simon Schuster and Ben Orner, who covers politics and voting, with time for questions from participating audience members near the end of the event. More from MLiveCampaign finance filings show gubernatorial candidates’ pathways to victoryMichigan abortion rights, voting access ballot decisions expected in AugustDid Trump’s endorsement help Michigan House, Senate candidates?

The campaign finance reports of Republican gubernatorial candidates underscore the distinct pathways candidates in the hope it will lead them to the nomination. From the beginning of 2022 to mid-July, Dixon raised about $1.2 million, while Soldano raised about $736,000. All the Republican candidates’ work has been dwarfed by Gov. She’s raised $29.6 million since the 2018 election — more more than all the Republican candidates on the ballot twice over. Though super PACs can’t legally coordinate with candidates they support under Michigan law, Dixon’s campaign has been able skirt this restriction.

Local 4 is asked the Michigan GOP candidates the same questions ahead of the Michigan Primary Election.

Watch Flashpoint every Sunday at 10 a.m. on Local 4 News and Local 4+.

Garrett Soldano says, over and over, that he never expected to be in this position. “I think every other campaign wishes they would have what we have right now,” Soldano said in an interview. “I don’t think you beat Governor Whitmer going on stage and talking policy,” Soldano said. Azee Business Solutions, a media and marketing company, accompanies Soldano to most campaign events, an employee said, filming and photographing him. In terms of the state budget, Soldano has stances that are at time at odds with themselves.

In the otherwise staid debate that covered little new ground on policy issues, sparks flew on a question about bipartisanship. Even though 38% remain undecided in that poll, Dixon was the clear target among the candidates on stage. Dixon recently unveiled a bill that would ban drag queens in schools alongside legislators. She responded to Soldano by alleging he had tried and failed to get the DeVos family endorsement, which he denied. After the debate, Rinke asserted he’s shaken Michigan’s political power brokers.

“If we don’t get God right in this next election, nothing will matter.”That’s the slogan Ralph Rebandt, a pastor from Farmington Hills, uses in almost every public appearance. It’s his bottom line and the ethos of his long-shot campaign to be the next governor of Michigan. Rebandt was pastor at Oakland Hills Community Church, the church he founded 35 years ago, until he launched his campaign for governor. Predictably, changing education in Michigan is central to the cultural change Rebandt envisions and his values play a major role. “I’ve had such a variety of experiences that when I run for when I’m governor, I’m not going to be signing a bill based on what I’m looking for.

A new poll shows where Republican voters in Michigan stand on the governor’s race in the upcoming GOP primary election in August.

In a crowded primary field and a hyperpartisan political climate, Kevin Rinke is sick of all the talking. His pitch to Michiganders is a promise to reforge the climate for business and education in the state. If this sounds like Michigan’s last Republican governor, Rick Snyder, who published a library of policy briefs while campaigning, think again. Though Rinke says he’s “not against transgender people,” he doesn’t believe they should be able to legally change their gender. “We have choices.”His commitment is to “help people in the state of Michigan have a better life.

The cease-and-desist letter says Rinke’s campaign must preserve records “in anticipation of litigation.” A Dixon campaign spokesperson didn’t respond when asked whether the campaign would file a lawsuit. Instead, two independent super PACs, which can’t legally coordinate with her campaign, have been the primary advertisers supporting Dixon on television in her bid for governor. FCC public inspection files have no record of Dixon’s campaign paying to run any ads, while the Michigan Families United has spent more than $1.3 million in her favor, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. Michigan also has long gaps between campaign finance filings. In an interview last month, Dixon declined to say how much money her campaign had raised.

“I think there’s a lot less people that actually really care about January 6 than we think there are,” Kelley said. Kelley has pled not guilty four federal misdemeanors related to his involvement at the U.S. Capitol. In a primary where 55% of Republican voters still support overturning the 2020 election, according to one May poll, Kelley has benefited from the arrest. With less than three weeks to go before the primary election, Kelley’s success is a testament to lingering resentment over the state’s pandemic restrictions and the enduring influence of former President Donald Trump. “Medical freedom,” a term which has come to mean preventing any institution public or private from imposing vaccine requirements, is the tent pole of Kelley’s campaign.

A leading contender for the Republican nomination for governor in Michigan was sued in the 1990s, accused of using racial slurs in the workplace and sexually harassing his employees. One of his rivals pleaded not guilty in federal court on Thursday to misdemeanor charges after authorities said he rallied Donald Trump’s supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. In an otherwise favorable election year for Republicans, the spectacle surrounding the Aug. 2 contest could hobble the party’s effort to defeat Democratic incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the fall.

The Republican primary for Michigan governor is shaping up as a battle of whose personal baggage is the least disqualifying.

A leading contender for the Republican nomination for governor in Michigan was sued in the 1990s, accused of using racial slurs about Black people in the workplace and sexually harassing his employees. One of his rivals pleaded not guilty in federal court on Thursday to misdemeanor charges after authorities said he rallied Donald Trump's supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. In an otherwise favorable election year for Republicans, the spectacle surrounding the Aug. 2 contest could hobble the party's effort to defeat Democratic incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the fall.

Though sparks flew over the hot-button issues of abortion and election denialism, moderator Rick Albin of WOOD TV kept the focus trained on the candidates’ vision for state government under their prospective leadership. “Let’s make sure that that doesn’t happen anymore.”There was some slight movement from the candidates in their rhetoric around election denialism. Rinke stood out in the last debate by saying he didn’t believe fraud changed the outcome of the election. The evening’s format gave candidates three opportunities to rebut their counterparts’ answers on demand, but at times candidates just used them to talk a little longer. There’s no recent polling to indicate a clear leader in the primary race, even with ballots in the hands of primary voters.

With absentee ballots in homes right now, the GOP hopefuls for governor turned the pressure up on each other at a debate in Grand Rapids.

Candidates to be the Republican nominee for Michigan governor are set to debate tonight.

WARREN, MI — Republican gubernatorial candidates turned to some verbal barbs in a freewheeling fourth debate Thursday evening that marked a shift from the genial tone of prior events. There, pastor Ralph Rebandt zeroed in on issues that distinguished the hard-line faction of gubernatorial candidates from those with slightly more moderate positions. “I think that the people of Michigan are smart enough to figure out who the proper leader is for the Republican Party,” Rinke said in an interview afterward. He is also chair of the Macomb Country Republican Party, but infighting has meant Castiglia has had to file suit to get access to party resources. The most recent poll conducted by Mitchell Research had a three-way tie between Tudor Dixon, Kevin Rinke and Ryan Kelley.

Ted Nugent, the famous rock ‘n’ roll performer and right-wing provocateur, has endorsed Kevin Rinke for governor. Dozens of Oath Keepers members have been charged in connection with their involvement on Jan. 6. The Oath Keepers have been designated a “far-right antigovernment group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Nugent’s current level of involvement with the Oath Keepers isn’t currently known. Rinke’s campaign hasn’t returned a request for comment on Nugent’s affiliation with the Oath Keepers by the time of publication.

An alleged insurrectionist is leading the chaotic field of Republican candidates

After Michigan governor candidate Ryan Kelley was arrested by the FBI on Thursday morning, his campaign’s Facebook page posted a short message: “Political prisoner.”Kelley was arrested for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. RELATED: Gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley arrested by FBI, home searchedA handful of Republicans – including some of his opponents for governor – are standing in support of Kelley. “We extend our prayers to the Kelley family,” governor candidate Garrett Soldano said on Twitter. “I respect Ryan Kelley and have met him out on the trail,” Rinke said. Read the FBI’s criminal complaint against GOP governor candidate Ryan KelleyGOP governor candidate boycotts debate, cites ‘extremist’ COVID policyCOVID shutdowns, mental health, Trump: 7 takeaways from GOP governor debate

Candidates blame Whitmer for mental health crisisWe should blame mental health – not guns – for school shootings, Soldano said. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID shutdowns are to blame for Michigan’s mental health crisis, three of the candidates said. Whitmer.”Rinke also blamed COVID shutdowns for the mental health crisis. “We need to hold the governor accountable for the political science decisions that she made that impacted mental health,” Dixon said. “One of the things that’s being hidden and buried right now is the mental health issue connected with marijuana,” Rebandt said.

Michigan's Republican primary for governor has been marred by a scandal over fake signatures on five candidates' nomination petitions.

It wasn’t the debate on Mackinac Island anyone would’ve imagined a few weeks ago. But with former Detroit Police Chief James Craig and Perry Johnson disqualified from the ballot, the remaining candidates got a chance to show what they were about.

Bookending the state’s annual conference on economic affairs, a slimmed-down field of Michigan gubernatorial candidates talked money on Mackinac Island Thursday evening, debating ways to cut the state’s largest-ever, $70 billion budget. The four Republican candidates for governor debated during the Mackinac Policy Conference, hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber. Ryan Kelley declined to participate, citing the conference’s COVID-19 vaccine and negative test requirement, although neither was required of candidates participating in the outdoor debate. Rebandt added he would only appoint people who say they can cut their agency’s budget by 10%. More guns, GOP governor candidates sayExactly two months from the Aug. 2 primary election, polling shows many undecided voters and no clear frontrunner among the GOP challengers.

Four days after the Uvalde, Texas school massacre, Michigan’s Republican candidates for governor were asked how Michigan can protect students from school shootings. The winner of the Aug. 2 GOP governor primary will face incumbent Gov. “I have significant, severe issues, now, with the 2020 election,” Markey said Saturday. The next governor debate is Thursday, June 2, at the Mackinac Policy Conference. RELATED STORIESPerry Johnson sues after getting kicked off GOP governor ballot for alleged fraud6 takeaways from the 8-hour meeting that cut Michigan’s GOP governor race in half‘It’s their obligation’: Michigan boots 19 candidates from Aug. 2 ballots over petition errors, fraudDeVos family endorses GOP governor candidate Tudor Dixon5 takeaways from Republican candidates for governor in first 2022 debateMichigan governor candidates ‘can’t read Trump’s mind,’ but many think he will endorse them

Republicans running for Michigan governor have met in their first debate.

DETROIT, MI – Only half of the declared Republican candidates in the running for Michigan Governor were invited to participate in a GOP gubernatorial debate at the 2022 Mackinac Policy Conference next month. The five gubernatorial candidates who were not invited to participate includes Mike Brown, Tudor Dixon, Michael Markey Jr., Ralph Rebandt and Donna Brandenburg. They were invited to attend the Mackinac Policy Conference, but not to participate in the debate, the Chamber said. RELATED: Schools, COVID and Trump divide GOP candidates at Michigan’s first gubernatorial debateMichigan’s GOP primary election is scheduled for Aug. 2. More on MLive:5 takeaways from Republican candidates for governor in first 2022 debateWith Roe v. Wade at risk, Michigan LGBTQ community worried their rights may be nextUnemployment waivers bring relief to thousands.

Candidates in attendance included Mike Brown, Tudor Dixon, Perry Johnson, Ryan Kelley, Michael Markey Jr., Ralph Rebandt, Kevin Rinke and Garrett Soldano. Soldano, Kelley, Johnson and Rinke each signaled opposition to eliminating funding, but said funding should be assessed and likely reduced. Rinke and Kelley took the strongest stance against the state Department of Education, indicating they would consider abolishing the department. Dixon, Johnson, Kelley and Soldano would be in favor of an exception based on the health of the mother. Kelley, Johnson and Rebandt answered Trump, while the rest of the group said Ronald Reagan and/or Abraham Lincoln.

Eight GOP Gubernatorial hopefuls had a chance to woo primary voters at the Livingston County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner. A debate, of sorts, was the feature of the evening.

Eight of Michigan’s 10 Republican candidates seeking to challenge Gov. All 10 candidates who legally qualified for the August 2022 Republican Primary ballot were invited to participate Thursday. In attendance were candidates Mike Brown, Tudor Dixon, Perry Johnson, Ryan Kelley, Michael Markey Jr., Ralph Rebandt, Kevin Rinke and Garrett Soldano. Each individual supported abortion bans, though Dixon, Rinke, Kelley, Perry, Brown and Markey noted various exceptions related to rape, incest or the life of the mother. Rebandt supports cutting off funds completely, while Brown, Dixon and Markey were opposed.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kevin Rinke said Monday that his “bold” proposal to eliminate Michigan's personal income tax would help residents and also sets him apart in a crowded 10-person primary field, though he didn't detail how...

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kevin Rinke says his “bold” proposal to eliminate Michigan’s personal income tax would help residents and sets him apart in a 10-person primary field.

Ten Michigan Republicans have filed enough signatures to get on August’s primary election ballot for governor, as they jockey to be the GOP choice to run against incumbent Democrat Gretchen Whitmer this November. This will be Michigan’s largest gubernatorial primary in state history, according to Michigan Information and Research Service Inc. There were nine Republican candidates for governor in 1920, which was the previous record for a single party in a primary. President Donald Trump hasn’t endorsed any Michigan candidates for governor yet, although he mentioned Dixon by name during his Michigan speech earlier this spring. Michigan Republicans will choose which AG and SOS candidates they’ll endorse at their statewide convention this weekend.

LANSING, MI – Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kevin Rinke denounced a bipartisan economic development fund that lawmakers say coaxed General Motors to make a $7 billion investment in Michigan, suggesting the deal was already in motion. After his speech, Rinke told reporters that he signed a non-disclosure agreement with an unnamed entity that Rinke said is developing a $3 trillion investment in Michigan. Gretchen Whitmer signed confidentiality agreements to not disclose information regarding potential development projects that could benefit from a $1 billion incentive fund created at the end of 2021. Rinke said Whitmer overpaid for the GM deal, though it’s also up to Republican-led committees to appropriate the funding. Rinke generally criticized under-performing schools for failing students, saying the state’s public school system is broken.

Still, Whitmer collected 48,214 donations from Michigan residents and 73,802 donations of $200 or less. Johnson pledged to match Whitmer’s fourth-quarter fundraising total with $2.5 million of his own cash. More than half of Whitmer’s donors gave more than $1,000. Craig had 15,068 donors who gave $200 or less, roughly 10,000 fewer than Soldano and 58,000 fewer than Whitmer. Craig collected $339,292 from donors who gave more than $1,000, which made up only 17% of his total fundraising.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's reelection campaign reported Monday that it raised an additional $2.5 million over two months but that it also transferred out $3.8 million it cannot spend because Republicans' longshot recall efforts failed.

Republican businessman Kevin Rinke has more money to spend on his 2022 gubernatorial campaign than his GOP rivals, but James Craig collected more donations from supporters. She had $9.9 million total to spend at the end of the year, more than all of the Republican candidates combined. Rinke reported having $1.4 million to spend on his campaign at the start of the year. Rinke, who earned a fortune by owning several car dealerships, pledged to spend $10 million of his own money on his candidacy. Perry Johnson, a Republican businessman, said he’ll put $2.53 million into his campaign to match Whitmer’s fundraising total.

Perry Johnson, a “quality guru” who founded a company that certifies if businesses are meeting industrial standards, filed papers Thursday to run for Michigan governor.

PLYMOUTH, MI -- Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kevin Rinke says he will offer a “new kind of leadership” to Michigan, arguing his experience as a business executive separates him from the crowded field of GOP contenders hoping to challenge Gov. “As the next governor, I’ll be accountable to Michigan parents,” Rinke said. Rinke was introduced by a former employee who worked at one Toyota franchise among the Rinke family’s auto dealership business. Rinke said his experience in business differentiates him from other candidates. Rinke called Craig “a lifelong bureaucrat.”“He may be a hell of a good police chief, he may be a bad police chief,” Rinke said.

LANSING, MI -- Garrett Soldano is the first Republican gubernatorial hopeful to submit signatures to get on the ballot in 2022. When 2021 campaign finance filings are available, Soldano said they will show his campaign raised $1.2 million in the last eight months. Related: Republican gubernatorial hopeful Garrett Soldano models transparency platform off Whitmer’s promisesAnother potential game-changer is the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Soldano also addressed accusations from the Michigan Democratic Party that he hocked supplements as a way to fight off COVID-19. READ MORE ON MLIVE:State board approves language for election audit, $15 min.

The prospect of students learning about the impact of institutional racism has thrown Republicans into a tizzy. Michigan is among a growing number states where...

A new poll offers some insight on where Michigan voters stand in the state’s upcoming election for governor.

Southeast Michigan businessman Kevin Rinke on Monday formally announced his candidacy for governor. Rinke, a former owner of auto dealerships through Rinke Automotive Group, had previously started a campaign committee but framed his run as exploratory. In a press release making the run official, he billed himself as a political outsider and conservative businessman. My grandfather started one of the first GM franchises here in Michigan over 100 years ago. Critical race theory, an educational framework aimed at examining race and racism on an institutional and structural level, is not taught in K-12 schools in Michigan.

Millionaire businessman and Republican Kevin Rinke officially launched his campaign for Michigan governor on Monday, pledging to spend at least $10 million of his own...

Courtesy photoJohn James, center, who ran for U.S. Senate, was endorsed by Kid Rock, right, who didn't run for Senate but pretended to. Conservative radio host Tudor Dixon and metro Detroit businessman Kevin Rinke also met with representatives from the Republican Governors Association, according toIt would be another steep battle for James, though. According to a Feb. 3-6 poll by the paper, Governor Gretchen Whitmer had a 58% approval rating, with 39% saying they would support her for reelection and 20% saying their answer depended on the candidates. The James-Peters race was the most expensive in Michigan history , as both parties fought for control of the U.S. Senate in a national race that wound up being way closer than expected. James lost to Peters by just two percentage points, but outperformed Donald Trump in Michigan, including in the bellwether of Grand Rapids' Kent County, a typically Republican stronghold where people chose James over Peters, yet Joe Biden over Trump.Another businessman named Austin Chenge has also announced his intentions to run against Whitmer, but his campaign is kind of a hot mess , to say the least.