Meet the Republican candidate for governor who isnt pro-Trump – MLive.com

Most of the 10 Republican candidates running for governor in Michigan claim to be the most conservative candidate and the biggest Donald Trump supporter of the bunch.

Not Michael Markey Jr.

Markey is one of the lesser known candidates on the ballot. The 38-year-old Grand Haven financial adviser just jumped into the race a few months ago, but gathered more petitions signatures than any candidate outside of Tudor Dixon and Perry Johnson.

Im the only moderate. No one else is running in the moderate lane, Markey said. We need a leader who can listen to both sides, bring ideas in from both sides and I didnt see anybody else running that way. So is it a benefit? Yes. Am I doing it for the benefit? No.

Markey does not consider himself pro-Trump or anti-Trump. Markey says hes somewhere in the middle when it comes to the former president.

I always thought he could have used a secretary of social media, Markey said.

While other candidates repeat disproven claims of election fraud, Markeys top priority is improving Michigans education system, reducing the number of abortions and lowering taxes.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should be benched for making too many mistakes, Markey said, but the personal attacks from other Republicans go too far.

People want to demonize the other party, Markey said. Ronald Reagan told us not to do that. He said we should refer to them as our friends on the left.

Markey thinks, as a moderate, he is the only candidate who can pull in votes from Democrats who are unhappy with Whitmer and President Joe Biden.

The Michigan Republican Partys endorsement convention Saturday, April 23, was full of Trump love and Whitmer hate.

Governor candidates had the option of paying $10,000 for a two-minute commercial during the event, Markey said, but were required to talk about Whitmer for 30 seconds of the ad.

Im a finance guy, Markey said. So it bugs me that I was going to spend $2,500 to talk about Governor Whitmer. Simple as that.

Only Perry Johnson and Ryan Kelley took the offer. Johnsons ad never mentioned Whitmer, however.

Kelleys commercial was a simple video of him talking about his political views. Johnsons was a heavily produced TV-style ad with flashy editing, sound effects and graphics and a narrator saying: Perry Johnson is, by far, the most conservative man running for governor.

There are a record 10 candidates in the Republican primary for governor the most ever in Michigan.

Republican voters have 10 governor candidates to choose from: Tudor Dixon, Perry Johnson, Michael Markey Jr., Michael Brown, James Craig, Kevin Rinke, Garrett Soldano, Ryan Kelley, Donna Brandenburg and Ralph Rebandt.

Splitting the vote

The large slate makes for a much different dynamic than if there were only a few candidates, experts say.

Every one of the candidates and their campaigns have to assume that this will be a battle for a plurality, and perhaps one as low as the 30s (% range) or high 20s (% range), said John Sellek, CEO of Harbor Strategic Public Affairs, a Republican public relations firm.

The only way a candidate might top 50% is if they get the Trump endorsement and it is the right endorsement, Sellek said.

RELATED: Michigan governor candidates cant read Trumps mind, but many think he will endorse them

The question is, will all Trumps supporters coalesce around his pick? And what if he does not endorse anybody in the race?

There are candidates who have really strong followings but their strong followings (include) strong President Trump supporters, Markey said. I dont think all of their followers are going to jump ship and go to wherever he endorses. So it may actually split that vote.

A split vote is the best-case scenario for Markey. And if all the other candidates run in the ultra conservative, Trump lane and Markey is left alone as a more moderate candidate, it could help his chances.

Retired Detroit Police Chief James Craig has been quiet on the campaign trail lately, but could be another challenger in the moderate lane although he has met with Trump and said he would accept the former presidents endorsement.

Raising the funds

While other Republican candidates attended lavish parties around Grand Rapids this weekend during the Republican convention, Markey had a different approach.

We gave pizzas out to everyone, Markey said. We didnt go to the schmoozy parties. We sat there on the street. I cant tell you the number of people who came up and just kept saying, Ive been looking for somebody like this.

Michael Markey Jr., a Republican candidate for governor, hands out pizzas during a campaign event in Grand Rapids.

Markey joined the race so recently, he is not even listed on Michigans last update showing how much candidates have raised. Now that he has gathered enough signatures to get on the ballot, Markey is focused on fundraising and traveling the state to talk to residents.

He has a long way to catch up to Rinke, Craig, Soldano and Johnson, who each have more than $1 million.

RELATED: Self-funded millionaires, small-dollar donors shape Republican race to challenge Whitmer

With so many competitors in the race, experts say money will be key. Johnson and Rinke lead the pack here, pledging millions of their own dollars to get their name out there.

It does give an advantage to those who can self-fund, said John Truscott, former spokesperson for Gov. John Engler and current CEO at public relations firm Truscott-Rossman. This is going to be a very expensive race.

The Aug. 2 primary election will narrow the field of candidates to one per party. Winners of the partys primaries will move on to the general election on Nov. 8.

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Meet the Republican candidate for governor who isnt pro-Trump - MLive.com