Running Mate
Winnie Brinks
Occupation / Current Position
Michigan Secretary of State
Education
Wellesley College (BA), Harvard University Law School (JD), Oxford University (Marshall Scholar, MA).
Qualifications and Experience
Michigan Secretary of State, Dean of Wayne State Law School, CEO of RISE (nonprofit organization).
My priorities will be to lower costs, grow our economy, and protect the rights of Michiganders. Across Michigan, families are struggling to put food on the table, pay for medicine, and cover electricity bills as costs rise. Too often, government is showing up everywhere we don’t want it and nowhere we need it. My affordability plan will lower medical bills and put patients first, make it easier to build affordable homes, end profit-driven rate hikes and protect Michiganders from outages while modernizing our grid and transitioning to renewable energy. We will invest in opportunities to diversify our economy that raise wages and protect jobs.
I am proud to be the only candidate for governor to release a comprehensive, data driven plan to ensure Michigan is a state known for excellence in public education. My plan will elevate the voices of educators and parents to:
* Develop world class talent with a public education system that guarantees every student will receive the knowledge they need to be career or college ready
* Raise wages and increase support for our educators
* Care for our youngest children by ensuring high quality early childhood education
* Invest in our schools with an equitable funding model to provide every child the resources they need
My affordability agenda will tackle the costs hitting families hardest. We will streamline regulations to make it easier to build homes in our state - and take on bad actors who abuse the system to drive up costs. I’ll lower healthcare costs with a prescription drug affordability board and a $5,000 caregiver tax credit. And we will invest in clean energy and modernize our energy grid to lower energy costs. I’ll expand early childhood opportunities and successful programs like RX Kids to make childcare more affordable. I will bring down costs and ensure everyone who works hard can afford to live and build a future in Michigan.
With over 20% of the world’s freshwater in a state where we pay some of the highest energy bills in the nation, we must do more to drive down the cost of energy while protecting our natural resources. As governor I will:
*Stop utilities from increasing bills while neglecting our power grid
*Launch an energy bill relief program to weatherize homes reducing energy costs
*Modernize Michigian’s grid and increase affordable renewable energy
*Restrict political contributions from public utilities and end conflicts of interest on the Michigan Public Service Commission
*Promote the growth of well paying union jobs with investments in clean energy
We are in a critical moment for the future of our state and our democracy - one where strong state leaders committed to protecting our constitutional rights and freedoms have never been more vital. I’ve been that leader as Michigan’s Secretary of State - putting my life on the line to protect and defend the constitutional rights of Michigan citizens - and will do the same as Michigan’s governor. This means using every tool available to ensure due process, that the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment are followed while also being prepared to stand up to anyone - including the President - who would try to undermine those protections.
Running Mate
Jay DeBoyer
Occupation / Current Position
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives serving Michigan’s 10th Congressional district (Elected
Education
B.S. in Law and Systems Engineering, U.S. Military Academy at West Point; M.S. in Supply Chain Management, Penn State; MBA, University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Qualifications and Experience
Combat veteran. Job creator. Congressman delivering for Michigan’s 10th District, with bills signed into law by both Republican and Democratic presidents.
Affordability: My top priority is making Michigan a place where families can afford to build a future. I will lower the cost of living by cutting taxes, reducing burdensome regulations, and creating good-paying jobs.
Strong families: I will empower parents with more choices in education, raise academic standards, support law enforcement to keep our communities safe, protect girls' sports, and ensure our children have every opportunity to succeed.
Accountability: I will eliminate wasteful spending, audit government programs, increase transparency, hold bureaucrats accountable, and put Michigan taxpayers first.
Michigan's kids are not failing. The system is failing them. We are going to fix that. On day one as Governor, I will opt Michigan into the Federal K-12 Education Freedom Tax Credit through immediate executive action, unlocking scholarships for tutoring, special needs services, and after school programs. My administration will also prioritize evidence-based literacy instruction and mastery-based learning. As Governor I will pursue legislative action to require proven phonics instruction from kindergarten through third grade, following the Mississippi model that delivered the nation's greatest reading gains.
Every decision my administration makes will be filtered through one question: Does this make Michigan more or less affordable? Lansing has been adding costs for years. We are going to start subtracting them. We need to lower taxes, cut burdensome regulations, eliminate wasteful spending, and make our state more affordable to live and raise a family. My economic development strategy is centered on Retention, Reclamation, and Recruiting. I support a Retention and Relocation Worker Tax Credit for critical shortage occupations and a 100% tax credit for businesses that fund scholarships for students pursuing high-demand careers.
Michigan needs an energy policy that is affordable, reliable, and grounded in common sense. As Governor, my first priority will be repealing the Whitmer "green energy" mandates and restoring local control. As Governor, I will pursue an all-of-the-above energy strategy. That includes natural gas, nuclear, hydro, renewables where they make economic sense, biofuels, and emerging technologies. I reject the false choice between environmental protection and economic strength. Michigan can prepare for climate impacts, protect natural resources, and remain affordable and competitive.
A governor's responsibility is to put Michigan first. State agencies and local law enforcement must cooperate with federal immigration authorities to enforce the law and protect public safety, particularly when dealing with individuals who have committed crimes or pose a threat to our communities. I am opposed to sanctuary policies that prevent cooperation with federal authorities. Schools, hospitals, and other public institutions should remain focused on their core missions while complying with applicable state and federal laws.
Running Mate
Beau Parmenter
Eliminate property taxes
Eliminate state income tax
No Data Centers or Flock cameras
We are 45 in the country in education so there is no quality, over funded with no positive results, need better pay for better teachers based on merit not tenure & the standards for standardized testing must be higher. Consolidate the school districts from 536 to 83 county districts and this would eliminate the bureaucracy and the overpaid administrators. We will consolidate the ISD into the public school system, and we would take the salaries of the administrators that we got rid of and reinvest that right back into The County school district. We will bring back the trades, we will bring back internships, we will bring back apprenticeships!
I will cut and reduce the over taxation in Michigan. I will restructure 5 government agencies down to one employee (EGLE, SOAR, NRC, MEDC, MDOT)! When you reduce the size of government and you eliminate taxes then life becomes a little more manageable for people. You cannot raise the cost of living and have a thriving economy. You must get rid of the waste, the fraud, the abuse, the tyranny, and all of the over taxation. And when you do that people can live on their paycheck without the fear of government taking everything they have because they can’t afford property taxes or state income taxes.
We would deregulate the state of Michigan’s energy and bring in competition so that we can put an into the monopoly of DTE and consumer. We would open and use our nuclear power plants, fix and use our Hydro dams, we would approve line 5 and we would burn the trash coming in from Canada! We will be become an energy independence state with rates that are affordable and below the national average cost. Michigan needs a break when it comes to energy.
I will enforce the constitution as governor of the state of Michigan no questions and no if and or butts about it! You wanna come to this country you come to this country legally follow our laws and assimilate to the culture of which you want to be a part of. If you are here illegally, we will remove you. There are no situations where an illegal alien gets a handout from the state of Michigan or receives any welfare compensation from welfare programs.
Running Mate
Robert Cowper
Occupation / Current Position
Business Owner/Entrepreneur
Education
Bachelors Degree
Qualifications and Experience
Business owner in a variety of industries. Educator. Horse Rescue. Founder of Bereavement Research. Parent of special needs child - experience in mental health deficiencies, job creation
Government exists to serve human beings not to loot them. Prioritize individual rights and the will of the people, honesty in government through complete financial and governmental department audits. This includes transparency, integrity in elections and accountability of all systems with clearly defined goals. Address and correct the weaponization of the justice system against the people. End unlawful property tax and income tax. Defend against corruption and multinational special interest/corporations with a focus returned to local business, job creation, conservation so families can enjoy the beauty of this state for generations.
Michigan is ranked 45th in the nation in education. Money spent has to produce a bright future for our children over politics and agendas. Local control: encourage parental involvement and put students first. Equal opportunity for all students. Initiate policies to prioritize innovation with individualized learning styles. Support and prioritize compensation of teachers who produce results benefitting our children. implementation of standards to ensure the safety of students, conducive to a focused productive learning environment and restrictions on cell phone use during class. A focus on critical thinking, community involvement and ethics.
I will end failed corporate welfare which ships jobs over seas and create an environment good paying local jobs can thrive in. Under the last administration, nearly billions went out in corporate deals. Eight of the biggest packages put $2.7 billion on the table for 20,595 promised jobs. About $1.8 billion has already been spent. The jobs delivered: 602—about 3% of what was sold to taxpayers. This is theft by corporatocracy. We end it. Slash red tape, keep energy affordable through innovation , and let small manufacturers, farms, trades, and family businesses grow without competing against a Fortune 500 firm that already got a subsidy
Michigan is not a product. The Great Lakes, the forests, the farmland, and the air are a trust. A governor is a caretaker, not a broker who sells the inheritance. Michigan (the 11th most expensive in cost for energy) already pays too much for electricity. I will stop policies that pad utility bills and end backroom deals which destroy the ecology of Michigan. The DNR and Michigan’s EGLE have failed to protect resources for the people. they capture resources, and convert “protection” into commerce … fees, credits, favored projects, and paperwork that the connected can buy their way through. Complete audit. Course correction.
Lawful immigration is a core tenet of the American process. The Constitution guards against government usurpation of rights. Immigration is an invitation to join us in building a future -work, family, and contribution -not a ticket to live as a dependent on the Michigan taxpayer. A welcome that becomes a welfare pipeline is not compassion. It exploits weakness in the system and punishes the lawful immigrants who pay the bills. Too often corporations use illegal work as cheap slave labor or indentured servitude. The entire process needs an audit. Also I will guard against exploitation and human trafficking under the guise of false compassion.
Running Mate
Bobbie Clay
Occupation / Current Position
Registered professional engineer (retired), substitute high-school teacher
Education
Registered professional engineer
Qualifications and Experience
Not accepting corporate PAC campaign contributions
Affordability
Energy
Education
Disappointing.
Eliminate the charter system.
Fund schools with a statewide budget. The current property-tax system creates a permanent apartheid where children born in poor neighborhoods attend poor schools, get a poor education, become poor adults, and repeat the cycle.
Greatly improve school architecture to reduce crowding & conflict, and make schools an attractive place where our young scholars actually want to be.
Establish a fund to enable more blue-collar and low-income high-school students to study abroad. Our children may be our future, but they can't offer a better future if they've never encountered anything different.
We need to start with acknowledging that we have arrived at late-stage capitalism and the old concepts are no longer applicable.
Encouraging job creation is a myth. Every time the government tries encouraging job creation in the private sector, it always ends up as corporate welfare, costing the state much more than the resulting wages.
Directly hiring people -- a'la the Green New Deal -- and establishing a Universal Basic Income are the alternatives to automation, job reduction and corporate profiteering.
We need to create a not-for-profit National Health System. We can start at the state level, one about-to-close hospital at a time.
The first thing we need to do is stop wasting so much energy. We need to make an energy code part of the building code for new construction, and make it feasible for owners of existing buildings to do energy upgrades.
Line 5 needs to be closed before we poison the entire Great Lakes.
Electric & gas utilities need to be converted from for-profit private corporations into municipal agencies whose priority is service, not profit.
Every flat roof and parking lot should be covered with photovoltaic collectors, and the energy they put onto the grid paid for on a net-metering basis.
Electric vehicles should be encouraged at every opportunity.
Now more than ever, people need to be protected FROM the federal government. The only "changes" I would make would be returning to the principles embodied in the Bill of Rights in 1789.
Immigrants built the United States. Almost everybody here is either an immigrant or descendants of immigrants. We need to dial down the hysteria and realize that wage suppression is the result of late-stage capitalism, not immigration.
Everybody charged with a crime for defending themself or others from roving gangs of armed, masked federal stormtroopers will receive a full pardon from the governor.
