Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) kept up the victim routine in her latest campaign fundraising email, claiming Betsy DeVos has it out for her.
This summer, Whitmer made false claims in another email, asserting DeVos was planning a run against her, forcing DeVos to deny such a plan.
“DeVos is a threat to public education and the future of our state, and we need to be ready to counter her billionaire-funded campaign,” Whitmer said in an August email to supporters.
“It’s almost comical that she [Whitmer] hears an unsubstantiated rumor and hits the panic button,” DeVos, a Michigan native, told the Detroit News. “She thinks she’s in an all-out war.”
Even though the former secretary of education repeatedly denied a campaign for governor, Whitmer is again using DeVos as a foil to raise money for her embattled reelection campaign.
“There are already an array of extremists running to try and secure the Republican nomination for governor, and while we’re building a team that can win this tossup race, Betsy DeVos is getting involved too,” Whitmer’s campaign wrote.
The Whitmer campaign then used a recent quote by President Joe Biden (D) — who claimed Whitmer is “one of the best governors” to ask for $5.
“Betsy DeVos is committed to impacting this election. She’s able to fund attack ads, negative mailers, and more with her fortune,” Whitmer’s email continued.
The campaign fundraiser concluded by identifying who she likely sees as her biggest threats, “With so much at stake, from protecting public education and reproductive healthcare to continuing our economic recovery and keeping the public safe during this pandemic, we simply can’t take the risk that wrong-for-Michigan politicians in this race like James Craig, Garrett Soldano, or Tudor Dixon are put in charge with the help of DeVos’s fortune.”
Recent polling indicates that Whitmer should be concerned about her potential Republican challenger.
However, Whitmer’s complaints about big donors is ironic, given her recent haul of allegedly illegal large donations, utilizing an empty threat of a recall.
Dubbing it Whitmer’s “$100,000 Club,” Michigan Freedom Fund said in a complaint filing with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) the group “comprised of donors who each illegally gave over $100,000 to Whitmer’s campaign in violation of the $7,150 contribution limit in state law.”
According to a September Michigan Freedom Fund news release, the complaints were filed against:
- Mark Bernstein, a trial lawyer from Farmington Hills who illegally contributed $250,000 on July 20 after a donation of $7,150 on Dec. 30, 2019
- J.B. Pritzker, the Governor of Illinois, who illegally funneled $250,000 to the Governor on July 8, 2021
- Ronda Stryker from Richland, MI, who illegally funneled $250,000 to the Governor on June 23, 2021
- Patricia Stryker from Fort Collins, CO, who illegally gave $250,000 to the Governor on April 12, 2021
- Stacy Schusterman from Tulsa, OK, who illegally gave $250,000 on April 15, 2021
- Ahmed Boomrod from Dearborn, MI, who illegally contributed $50,000 on May 19, 2020, $55,000 on July 8, 2021, and $2,500 on June 14, 2021 after donating $7,150 on June 4, 2019
- James Offield from Harbor Springs, MI, who illegally gave $100,000 on April 19, 2021 after a donation of $7,150 on Oct. 28, 2019
- Karla Jurveston from Los Altos, CA, who illegally gave $100,000 on April 29, 2021 and $1,000 on Oct. 13, 2020
- Heidi Stolte from Seattle, WA, who illegally gave $100,000 on May 5, 2021
- Stephen Silberstein from Belvedere Tiburon, CA, who illegally gave the Governor $100,000 on May 10, 2021
“Whitmer’s $100,000 Club is comprised of far-left liberals who illegally gave Whitmer’s campaign six-figure donations – a violation of state law that limits the amount a person can give to $7,150,” Tori Sachs, executive director of the Michigan Freedom Fund, said in the news release. “Secretary Benson should immediately take action to fine each member of ‘Whitmer’s $100,000 Club’ the amount of their excessive contribution and Whitmer should disgorge the illegal money, along with paying a fine equal to the amount of the illegal donations.”
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
