LANSING, Mich. — Former President Donald Trump on Monday touted GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon's lieutenant governor pick Shane Hernandez and called on Michigan Republicans to "work together" ahead of a convention that some party members fear could turn contentious.
Trump issued a statement after 7 p.m., about 90 minutes after Farmington Hills pastor Ralph Rebandt, a former candidate for governor, said he planned to challenge Hernandez's nomination at Saturday's Michigan Republican Party convention in Lansing.
Dixon, a political commentator and businesswoman from Norton Shores, on Friday revealed her selection of Hernandez, a former state lawmaker from Port Huron, as her preferred running mate.
"The MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement should support the ticket," Trump said. "This is who Tudor wants and therefore, Shane is who I want as your next lieutenant governor."
Trump's statement was an effort to quell a potential feud at Saturday's convention in Lansing. Some Republicans have called Dixon an "establishment" candidate and remain unhappy with her victory in the Aug. 2 primary. They've discussed adding someone to the ticket who's been backed by the party's grassroots wing.
On Monday, GOP former candidate for governor Garrett Soldano declined to seek the lieutenant governor position, but Rebandt jumped into the race.
"The process of delegate nomination for lieutenant governor is a legitimate process allowed by Michigan election law and the Republican Party bylaws and should not be viewed as divisive," Rebandt said in a news release.
Trump labeled Hernandez "an outstanding person" who "is strongly committed to election integrity." Dixon "must defeat" Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November, the ex-president added.
"The radical left Democrats and fake news media demand that Republicans be divided," Trump said. "We must work together to defeat them and, in particular, Gretchen Whitmer."
His statement said, "All Republicans must unite and work hard for Tudor and Shane."
Dixon was endorsed by Trump four days before the Aug. 2 primary election. She won the GOP nomination with 40% of the vote after facing criticism from her opponents for being backed by west Michigan's DeVos family.
Rebandt got 4% in the primary, finishing in fifth place in the five-candidate race.
"There is a war going on for the soul of the GOP in Michigan with Trump-endorsed candidates on one side and the establishment DeVos family on the other," a group of GOP candidates wrote Trump in a letter last month.
At Saturday's state GOP convention, delegates have to cast "an affirmative vote" to approve Dixon's running mate pick, according to party rules. It's unclear how that vote will happen.
If Dixon's lieutenant governor choice doesn't get "an affirmative vote," she'll be able to address the convention, resubmit her choice or submit a new candidate for consideration, according to the party's rules. If the second nomination doesn't receive an affirmative vote, then nominations may be submitted from the floor of the convention.
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