Fresh off a late-October prime-time debate, Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon had completed nearly a dozen TV interviews by noon the next day. Campaign ads were finally airing on TV, and Dixon was scheduled to depart for a statewide bus tour in a final push to become Michigan’s next governor. The itinerary was a stark contrast to the early days of her general election campaign against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, when Dixon emerged from the GOP primary and then seemed to disappear from voters’ sight. Weeks of ads attacking her went unanswered, while Dixon laid low trying to raise more campaign cash, she said. The shift in campaign strategy has paid off, as a more visible Dixon has made it a closer race with about a week to go before Election Day. She is hoping to capitalize on GOP momentum across the country, fueled by voters’ concerns about the economy and inflation, as well as President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings. “This was the plan and that’s how it went,” Dixon told The Associated Press last week. “And I actually think our momentum is coming at just the perfect time.” Whitmer remains the favorite in the race. But Democrats acknowledge the political environment is tougher than it was in 2018, when a backlash to President Donald Trump helped Whitmer and other Democratic candidates win statewide and take control of the U.S. House. That fall, Whitmer defeated Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette by nearly 10 percentage points. This year’s election is expected to be closer. “We always knew that this would be a close race,” Whitmer said after an Oct. 25 debate. “I never for a second doubted that. What I did doubt was polls that had it at double digits.” Dixon, who has never served in an elected office, rose from relative anonymity as a far-right online news commentator to win the Republican nomination on the back of an endorsement from Trump and support from the wealthy family of former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, major players in GOP politics in the state who are among her top donors. Dixon went silent statewide after the primary as she struggled to keep up with Whitmer’s fundraising, with the first-term incumbent having nearly 30 times more cash on hand than Dixon in August. Whitmer and Democrats began airing attack ads that quoted Dixon as saying a 14-year-old rape victim was the “perfect example” for why she didn’t support abortion rights. While Dixon doesn’t support abortion in cases of rape and incest, she says the quote was taken out of context. The Republican Governors Association announced earlier this year that it would be spending $3.5 million in Michigan to run ads supporting Dixon, but early voting had been underway for almost two weeks by the time the ads began airing statewide in mid-October. Dixon acknowledged at an Oct. 13 debate that it was the first time many voters would be hearing from her directly. Some strategists say it may have been too late. “A whole month went by in August where the Dixon campaign didn’t have any infrastructure, and they were building it up,” said Jason Roe, the former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party. “They were doing it too slow and lost a month and they got defined by (Whitmer’s) ads.” […]

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