(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/23/22) The Republican gubernatorial candidate who finished last in a five-person field with 4% of the vote, says he's got a better than even chance to be the party's lieutenant governor nominee over the objections of the person at the top of the ticket, Tudor Dixon.
She has picked former two-term house member Shane Hernandez, but the Rev. Ralph Rebandt, after praying and meeting with his team of supporters, has decided the grassroots delegates to Saturday's convention will vote for him instead.
"This is going to be a huge, a huge win for the grassroots. I'm convinced people are going to say they want their voices to be finally heard . . . I really believe the grassroots for the first time could change the direction of the party and of the state," he reflected.
The statement comes despite the full-blown endorsement of the Dixon-Hernandez ticket by former President Donald Trump yesterday.
Doesn't that hurt the Rebandt effort?
“I don't think so,” Rebandt said. "There are delegates all over Michigan whose voices haven't been heard and I think they feel a bit marginalized throughout this whole process (and) I've read comments" about the endorsement possibly backfiring with these delegates.
The challenger does not have a delegate nose count, but remains optimistic. "I can tell you it appears huge. It appears to be huge. All over the state I'm getting emails from people . . . people speaking out on my behalf who are very influential among the delegates."
Adding to that he explains before the primary election many Republicans told him, "if you lose you should run for lieutenant governor." Now, he is with the pledge that, "I'm not in this to divide the party but to unite it."
His team is in the process of contacting every delegate, but even if he loses, "I will support the ticket regardless."
Meanwhile: the Dixon campaign is fighting to avoid a political setback at the hands of its own party.
