Millionaire Who is “Not Interested in the Same Things” as Michiganders Packs His Way Into Crowded GOP Primary

In the latest sign of the wide-open Michigan GOP primary for governor getting messier, self-funding millionaire Perry Johnson is squeezing his way into the packed field of a dozen extreme candidates.

Yet to answer any questions about how he’ll fix the roads, invest in education, or cut the retirement tax, the only thing Michigan families know about Perry Johnson is he spent $1.5 million to buy TV ads where he brags that he’s “not interested in the same things” as Michiganders. In a deeply weird move, he also took credit for every job in the auto industry.

A Michigan State professor, who is an expert in advertising, said after the ad, “I’m sure he [Johnson] likes himself, but he may be the only person who does based on this ad, along with maybe some TV stations and his own consultants who make money off him.”

Johnson’s entrance to the race should worry James Craig, Garrett Soldano, and Tudor Dixon, who spent more campaign money than they raised during the last reporting period. But up against another self-funder in Kevin Rinke, the Michigan GOP primary is sure to drain every candidate’s campaign coffers.

“The race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination appears to be wide open,” Bridge Michigan reported. “Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig entered the race last fall as the presumed front runner but has posted sluggish fundraising numbers.”

“Take his word for it — just like the rest of the extreme Republicans, Perry Johnson doesn’t care about the same things as Michiganders,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Sam Newton. “The Michigan GOP primary field is already packed with extreme candidates with harmful plans to defund public education and completely ban abortion with no exemptions. Insiders’ attempts to crown James Craig have utterly failed and, with one more self-funding millionaire in the hunt, Republican chaos and infighting can only get worse from here.”

###