Gretchen Whitmer, the 49th governor of Michigan, has served as governor since 2019, a position she has been proud to hold. However, whether she remains governor in 2023 is up to the voters as Michigan’s gubernatorial election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Whitmer, the Democratic nominee and current governor of Michigan, is now facing competition from a new challenger: Tudor Dixon, a Republican nominee who has been involved in politics for a while. So the question is, why is Dixon choosing to run for governor against Whitmer? Dixon is confident that she will win the election and believes she will be a great governor for the great state of Michigan.

She has shared many policies she wants to enforce including banning abortions unless the mother’s life is in immediate jeopardy banning drag shows in schools and supporting fiscal tax cuts.

Dixon is familiar with politics, as she has done political commentary, most notably on America’s Voice Live, a program that airs on Conservative radio program Real America’s Voice, which has stirred some controversy for the nature of what she has spoken about, including the time she made fun of Macy’s announcement to sell hijabs, to which she called “oppressive garments” and defending people who have used blackface, calling it “comedy”.

Despite Dixon’s plan to run against her, Whitmer isn’t done and will be running against Dixon, tackling problems Dixon hasn’t talked much about, like the Flint Water Crisis and the amount of school shootings that have occurred in the past few years.

Whitmer’s running mate, Garlin Gilchrist, will also run again for lieutenant governor, the same position he is currently in.

On the other hand, Dixon is headstrong and doesn’t expect to lose the election. Dixon’s running mate, Shane Hernandez, who had previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives in the 83rd district from 2017 until 2021, is also hoping not to lose the election.

Hernandez wants to keep his head up in hopes the outcome will favor both him and Dixon over Whitmer and Gilchrist.

What should they do when the new governor enters office? When asked what the new governor should do when they get into office, some students had suggestions.

“Fix the water crisis occurring in Flint,” Sophomore Cyril Parr said. “It’s been going on for too long.”, Referencing the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan, has been going on since April 2014 with few fixes or solutions.

Regardless of whether you vote for Dixon or Whitmer, we will have to wait and see what the new governor does once they win the election. Luckily, the election for governor of Michigan will take place on November 8, and will be broadcasted live on many streaming networks for people at home to watch.