It seems two candidates for Michigan governor are already battling it out for the November election, before either has won their party’s nomination.
Democratic candidate Gretchen Whitmer and Republican candidate Bill Schuette traded jabs on Monday after a fundraiser invitation for Whitmer revealed two co-hosts of the event are the lawyer who raised a red flag for possible misuse of state funds by Schuette, and the Ingham County prosecutor who referred the case to the FBI.
The FBI has not said if it is, has, or will investigate the Attorney General.
In a statement, Schuette campaign spokesman John Sellek said:
“It’s now officially confirmed this smear campaign is coordinated by a member of Gretchen Whitmer’s fundraising team. These false political attacks stink to high heaven because they are the kind of garbage making voters cynical about politics when what they really want is to fix the roads and cut auto insurance rates.”
Whitmer herself dismissed the comments with a tweet saying, "give me a break, Bill".
🙄 give me a break, Bill.https://t.co/4wmfbR12ro
— Gretchen Whitmer (@gretchenwhitmer) July 16, 2018
Whitmer’s Communication’s Director Zack Pohl said in a statement:
"If Bill Schuette wants someone to blame for the mess he's in, he should look in the mirror. Even the governor of his own party said this is 'clearly a serious matter.' The fact is, Schuette used six different government employees to help him sell $7.2 million in luxury Caribbean real estate. While Schuette said his millions were in a blind trust, he was getting his staff to help him turn a profit while on the taxpayers' time. What else is Bill Schuette hiding? It's time for him to come clean with Michigan taxpayers about his shady, offshore business deals."
