“More than 150 Michigan Republicans banded together to launch a group supporting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s reelection bid,” the Detroit Metro Times reports.

A new Detroit News/Glengariff Group poll in Michigan finds Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) lead over challenger Tudor Dixon (R) has expanded to 13 percentage points with two months remaining before Election Day, 48% to 35%.

“Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s campaign held 26 fundraisers in 35 days, has 49 people on its payroll and $14 million in the bank as of Aug. 22. Republican nominee Tudor Dixon’s is reporting two paid staff, held no fundraisers and has about $524,000 in cash as of late August,” MLive reports.

“For ever dollar Dixon had to spend at the end of the last filing period, Whitmer had nearly $27.”

A new EPIC-MRA poll in Michigan finds Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has a sizeable lead over challenger Tudor Dixon (R), 50% to 39%.

“Former Detroit police Chief James Craig (R) says he won’t support Republican nominee Tudor Dixon or Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the November election for Michigan’s top office,” the Detroit News reports.

“It’s possible, the former lawman suggested in an interview Monday, that he could back U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate Donna Brandenburg, who also previously sought the GOP nomination for governor.”

“The wealthy DeVos family is pouring millions of dollars into its long established political network to help Republican candidate Tudor Dixon overtake Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in what could be one of the most expensive races in the 2022 midterm elections,” CNBC reports.

 “Tudor Dixon is a much younger, smarter, and hotter Gretchen Whitmer.”

— Michigan GOP chair Meshawn Maddock, commenting on the new Republican gubernatorial nominee.

“Michigan Republicans’ path to taking the governor’s mansion has gotten rockier after an unusual series of errors by GOP candidates created an unsettled field heading into Tuesday’s primary,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Five of the original 10 GOP candidates for governor didn’t make the ballot due to fraudulent petition signatures. One of the remaining candidates was arrested on a misdemeanor charge for participating in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Political newcomer and conservative commentator Tudor Dixon has emerged as the slight front-runner in what looks like a very close race.”

A new Detroit News poll finds Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has leads over all five of her potential GOP challengers less than four months before Election Day, raising doubts about whether a Republican wave will make landfall in Michigan.

Associated Press: “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. Another candidate is a chiropractor and self-help guru who hawked supplements he falsely claimed treated COVID-19.”

“And even the contender who has garnered mainstream support had an ‘admittedly lame’ hobby acting in low-budget horror pictures, one of which included a zombie biting off a man’s genitals.”

“Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley’s recent arrest by the FBI for his suspected involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol appears to have boosted his name recognition and favorability among GOP voters in Michigan,” the Detroit Free Press reports.

“Kelley was arrested June 9. In a June 10-13 poll conducted for the Detroit Free Press and our outstate polling partners by EPIC-MRA of Lansing, 17% named Kelley as their preferred candidate for the August primary to determine which Republican candidate challenges Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November.”

“A judge declined to put a former Detroit police chief on the Republican ballot for Michigan governor, the third candidate to lose a court challenge after election staff said campaign petitions were marred by fraudulent signatures,” the AP reports.

“It’s a remarkable setback for James Craig (R), who has high name recognition in southeastern Michigan and retired as Detroit’s top cop last year to make his first run for office.”

“Five Republican candidates for Michigan governor were disqualified by a state canvassing board on Thursday for submitting nominating petitions that officials said had contained thousands of forged signatures,” the New York Times reports.

“The decision sent the race, in a key battleground state, into chaos and dealt a serious blow to the party’s plans to challenge Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic incumbent.”

Michigan gubernatorial candidate James Craig (R) said he suspects his former campaign manager used his electronic signature to sign his name, without his knowledge, to a campaign fundraising letter that criticized the Michigan State Police, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Craig also hinted the letter may have been an act of campaign sabotage.

A new Detroit News/WDIV/Glengariff poll in Michigan finds Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) leading each of her possible Republican challengers by double-digit margins.

Whitmer’s approval rate is 48% to 40%.

A new Detroit Free Press/EPIC-MRA poll in Michigan finds Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) with an insignificant lead over potential GOP nominee, ex-Detroit police chief James Craig (R), 45% to 44%.

Former Detroit police chief and likely Republican gubernatorial candidate James Craig twice filed for bankruptcy while a ranking officer in the Los Angeles Police Department, federal court documents obtained by Deadline Detroit show.