Whitmer, Dixon highlight differences in final Michigan governor debate

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican challenger Tudor Dixon sparred Tuesday over energy policy and the quality of Michigan's K-12 schools, with Whitmer on the defensive at times over plummeting student performance on reading and math and her efforts to shut down the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline.

The second and final debate between Whitmer and Dixon took place two weeks before Election Day, with polls showing Dixon narrowing what once was a wide Whitmer lead in the race for governor.

The candidates stepped up the rhetoric during the one-hour debate at Oakland University, with Whitmer accusing Dixon of stoking violence and boosting conspiracy theories, and Dixon saying of Whitmer: "Her radical policies have crushed this state."

"Both candidates had a greater sense of urgency tonight," said Aaron Kall, director of debate at U-M. "You could see how important they thought this debate was."

Moderator Chuck Stokes of WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) challenged Whitmer directly on declining performance on standardized tests, saying the buck stops with her as governor and she has had four years to move the needle but has not done it.

"We've also had some historic challenges over the last four years," Whitmer countered, referencing the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020, adding: "Kids were out for three months." For those who say children were kept out of classrooms for too long, "as a mom, all I was thinking about was saving the lives of our kids."

Dixon said new national test results released this week show Michigan is a "bottom state" for education and "we are really doing horribly in reading and math." She scoffed at Whitmer's statement that students were only out of classrooms for three months, saying some students had not even returned to classrooms this year.

Whitmer ordered schools closed in March 2020 and eventually extended that closure through the end of that school semester. She again ordered high schools closed for an additional three weeks in November 2020 during a spike in COVID-19 cases. During much of the pandemic, returning to in-person instruction was a decision left up to local school districts, under legislation agreed to by Whitmer and the Republican-controlled Legislature, so many students were out of classrooms for much longer.

School test results released Monday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed the performance of Michigan students in reading and mathematics worsened between 2019 and 2022, roughly mirroring drops in performance seen around the country.

The national ranking of Michigan's performance in fourth grade reading dropped to 43rd in 2022, from 32nd in 2019, while the state's ranking in eighth grade reading dropped to 31st, from 28th, the report shows. Michigan saw some improvement in its national ranking, relative to other states, in mathematics, but test scores also worsened in that discipline and Michigan's rankings remained in the bottom half of the 50 states. Detroit Public Schools performed worst of the 26 urban districts nationally that participated in the tests.

Dixon called for 25 hours of tutoring for every Michigan student to help them recover from the lost classroom time and catch up.

More:Whitmer, Dixon portray each other as radical in lively first Michigan governor debate

More:Michigan's candidates for governor: Where Gretchen Whitmer and Tudor Dixon stand

Whitmer said Michigan has made the biggest investment ever in K-12 schools under her administration and that has included tutoring, reduced class sizes, mental health support, and other extra help for students adversely affected by the pandemic.

And she said that if Dixon is elected governor, the education budget will be written by Dixon and her biggest financial booster, former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and half a billion dollars will be drained from public schools to pay for a tax credit plan DeVos is backing in the Legislature to support private schools.

Whitmer, who campaigned in 2018 on shutting down Line 5 to protect the environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac from a potential spill of crude oil, appeared on the defensive on that issue after Dixon said such a shutdown would disrupt propane supplies to both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, forcing up already high home heating costs.

"There has been no change in Line 5," Whitmer said. "The tunnel continues to move forward," she said, referencing an Enbridge plan to dig a tunnel across the straits and encase the pipeline in concrete to prevent a spill. That plan, backed by former Gov. Rick Snyder and the GOP Legislature, is opposed by Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel, in favor of an immediate shutdown.

Dixon countered: "The only reason it's not shut down is because other people have stopped her radical energy agenda."

Whitmer, who has said alternative arrangements can be made to supply Michigan residents with propane, said she has promoted clean energy alternatives and it's possible to protect against energy price spikes at the same time as protecting the Great Lakes from an environmental catastrophe.

At their first debate, held Oct. 13 in Grand Rapids, Whitmer and Dixon portrayed each other as radical as they debated abortion, roads and a wide range of other state issues.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer and Dixon highlight differences in final debate