KEVIN RINKE

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.