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Republican Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon is hitting back at a group affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) following the release of a new ad targeting her over police funding and claiming her plans would result in the state being "less safe" with "less cops on the street."
The group, Put Michigan First, is working to promote incumbent Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and is spending seven figures on the ad buy accusing Dixon of planning to slash police budgets across the states by hundreds of millions of dollars.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Dixon slammed the ad as untrue and argued it was evidence that Democrats feared a matchup between her and Whitmer in November.
"It's interesting because we've seen Democrats using this national strategy to rig these Republican primaries, and they seem to be building up the candidate that they want to run against most," she said. "The story about the police is obviously not true. I'm even endorsed by the Police Officers Association."
Tudor Dixon, Republican gubernatorial candidate for Michigan, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S., on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (Tristan Wheelock/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"They're going up against me specifically, and I think that that shows that they believe that the other candidates in the field are weak. They likely have some strategy against them that will be very effective. And their goal is to take me out in the primary and that they don't want to face me in the general," she added.
Dixon stressed that none of her plans would involve any reduction in funding for police, and that she would, in fact, ensure police received the funding they needed for training, as well as other benefits.
"That's one of the things that when I talk to police officers across the state. They've said some of our departments just don't have enough funding for training. So we want to make sure that they are well funded, but also take a look at creative ways to bring them to the state, whether that is incentivizing police officers to come here or offering a tax credit to have continuing health care after they retire," she said.
Dixon then blasted Whitmer's record on policing, accusing her of supporting the "Defund the Police" movement and overseeing a massive crime rise in cities across the state.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the press before signing the final piece of a $76 billion state budget into law, Wednesday, July 20, 2022 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
"I think this is an interesting attack considering her record and the fact that she's come off as a completely incompetent governor. This is how you go against somebody who is coming through with true leadership and true ideas. And they're clearly afraid that her incompetence is showing, and she's going to be a failure come November if she runs against me," she said.
The spending on campaign ads against Dixon is the latest example of meddling by Democratic groups in Republican primaries. Other examples include the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spending hundreds of thousands on ads in favor of Rep. Peter Meijer's, R-Mich., primary challenger in the race for Michigan's 3rd Congressional District, and the DGA spending millions in Maryland to boost a candidate backed by former President Donald Trump over the more establishment conservative candidate.
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The Republican primary will be held on Tuesday with Dixon facing a crowded field of candidates seeking to take on Whitmer, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Fox News' Kyle Morris and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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