Don’t Miss These Debates Between Schuette, Whitmer

MICHIGAN — Gubernatorial candidates Republican Bill Schuette and Democrat Gretchen Whitmer are gearing up for two debates that will be televised in the state this fall. The locations and live formats are the following the same pattern as the primary campaign, when the first debate for each party was held on WOOD-TV and the last one on WDIV in Detroit.

The Grand Rapids station will kick off the clash of the candidates on Oct. 12 in a one-hour 7 p.m. broadcast that will be livestreamed and picked up by other stations around the state. Moderator Rick Albin will decide what questions to ask and the format for the opening and closing statements.

The last debate is scheduled for Oct. 24 in Detroit, as WDIV anchors Devin Scillian and Kimberly Gill ask the questions in a one-hour forum that starts at 8 p.m.

Schuette, the state's attorney general, is the Republican candidate for governor. His running mate is Lisa Posthumus Lyons. Whitmer, a former legislative leader, is the Democratic candidate for governor. Her running mate is Garlin Gilchrist II.

A recent poll by WDIV and the Detroit News showed Whitmer with a double-digit lead over Schuette. Whitmer was closing in on 50 percent of the vote with only 10 percent of voters undecided, according to the poll results.

The debates will be their first face-to-face appearance since the primary campaign season when all the Republican and Democratic candidates faced off in party debates.

Schuette has been attacking Whitmer as favoring the policies of former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who led the state during the stagnant economy of the 2000s that included the Great Recession, the Detroit News reported. His campaign has argued that her spending policies would lead to a tax increase, especially since she has refused to pledge that she would not raise taxes.

Whitmer's campaign has been arguing that Schuette would take health care away from Michiganians because he supports the elimination of the Affordable Care Act, which included the expansion of Medicaid health insurance coverage, according to the Detroit News.

Schuette has said he would keep the program in place even though he supports passing better federal health care policies and has reiterated his past support for maintaining federal insurance protections for those with pre-existing conditions.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6.

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