Michigan GOP urges voters to 'retire Whitmer' in ad blitz targeting Democratic governor

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EXCLUSIVE: The Michigan GOP says it is launching its earliest ads ever against an incumbent governor as it starts running spots targeting Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is running for reelection in November.

Using clips of Whitmer and news reports, the ad criticizes the governor over COVID-19 nursing home deaths, school shutdowns due to the pandemic, vaccine mandates, her alleged violation of pandemic rules, and the ongoing drinking water contamination crisis in the state. It also blames Whitmer for rising prices in the state and for jobs Michigan lost during her tenure.

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In the text that is seen on screen during the 60-second ad, the state Republican Party says, "Michigan can’t afford four more years of deadly incompetence, of serial hypocrisy, of abusing power, of suppressed human rights, of school shutdowns and mass exodus, of record crime, of lost jobs, of flip-flopping, of failure. This November, retire Whitmer."

The Michigan GOP, which shared its ad first with Fox News, says it will spend an initial five figures to run the spot online starting Monday, and it will ramp up to a six-figure digital and TV buy in the coming weeks. The state party launched its ad blitz ahead of Whitmer’s state of the state address, which she is scheduled to deliver Wednesday.

"This is the earliest the Michigan GOP has gone up with an ad against an incumbent – digital or broadcast," Michigan GOP communications director Gustavo Portela noted. 

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"The reason we’re doing it is we’re seeing in poll after poll that she’s vulnerable, with the latest polling showing her losing to a generic Republican." Portela cited a Detroit News survey from earlier this month.

Whitmer is also a frequent target of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), which has spent $500,000 so far this cycle to take aim at her in ads.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses business leaders, Dec. 20, 2021, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

Whoever comes out on top in Michigan’s crowded and competitive GOP gubernatorial primary Aug. 2 will have a challenge in ousting Whitmer. 

The former state Senate Democratic leader and county prosecutor who defeated then-state attorney general Bill Schuette in the 2018 election and who was considered as a possible running mate for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, had built a formidable war chest of $12.6 million as of the end of October.

During the recently concluded college football bowl season, Michigan First, a group backed by the Democratic Governors Association, launched a six-figure ad blitz that touted "Whitmer’s actions to lower costs for families after working with Republicans to pass historic auto insurance reforms."

While Republicans lost the White House and the Senate majority in the 2020 election cycle, they took a big bite out of the Democrats' House majority, and they also flipped the Montana governor’s office from blue to red.

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In November, the GOP flipped Virginia's governor's office from blue to red and came close to ousting Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in deep blue New Jersey.

Looking ahead to this year's gubernatorial elections, the RGA eyes flipping Democratic governorships in Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.