Losing To ‘Out-of-Nowhere’ Primary Challenger, Warning Signs Plague Michigan Dem Gov Candidate Gretchen Whitmer

Trailing liberal multimillionaire Shri Thanedar in the two most recent public polls for Michigan’s Democrat gubernatorial primary, Gretchen Whitmer continues to struggle as her campaign fails to catch fire with her party’s base voters. In a new Detroit News column, Nolan Finley writes that Whitmer is “running second to an out-of-nowhere challenger” despite the fact that she has “picked up nearly every major Democratic endorsement as well as most of the media coverage.”

Finley also noted that “Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s instincts may have been right when he staged his failed recruiting drive to find a more appealing Democratic standard bearer,” referring to Duggan’s attempt to recruit an alternative to Whitmer with the help of Big Labor leaders, a debacle that highlighted just how little confidence party leaders have in Whitmer.

As Whitmer fails to catch fire with Democrat voters, losing to a challenger once thought to be a long-shot, she struggles for momentum, facing increasing challenges just to make it past her party’s primary.

Nolan Finley writes for the Detroit News:

“No wonder the Democratic establishment was so worried about Gretchen Whitmer standing as the party’s anointed candidate for governor.

A poll released late last week by the Detroit Regional Chamber, the first independent survey since the filing deadline for the race, has Whitmer struggling against a challenger few had heard of a year ago.

The unconventional Shri Thanedar finds himself ahead of Whitmer, 29.6 percent to 26.3 percent.

The survey by the Glengariff Group, which is also the pollster for The Detroit News, was used by the chamber to shape the field for the gubernatorial debate during its Mackinac Policy Conference next month. 

While Whitmer represents the party establishment that made that poor choice, Thanedar has been busy courting black voters, targeting most of his spending on the Detroit market…

Democrats who said they get most of their news from television overwhelmingly support Thanedar, while those who say they get their information from social media and online sources back Whitmer. To reach black votes, she’ll have to mount a traditional campaign in the city…

Whitmer has been in the race as long as Schuette, and has picked up nearly every major Democratic endorsement as well as most of the media coverage. And yet, for now, she’s running second to an out-of-nowhere challenger.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s instincts may have been right when he staged his failed recruiting drive to find a more appealing Democratic standard bearer.”