Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon has chosen former state lawmaker Shane Hernandez to be her running mate.
Dixon, who won Michigan’s GOP primary on Aug. 2, announced her lieutenant governor selection on Friday, about an hour before a 5 p.m. deadline to notify the state Republican Party.
Hernandez, 39, of Port Huron, served two terms in the state House and chaired the House Appropriations Committee in 2019 and 2020. After losing a three-person primary for an open congressional seat, he became a legislative staffer, working as the House majority’s strategy director, policy director and caucus services director for roughly a year-and-a-half until June. A trained architect, he now is a project manager at Nicholas Sears Construction in Port Huron, according to his LinkedIn account, and owns a residential design firm he formed in March.
“Shane Hernandez as lieutenant governor will help to improve our schools, create safer communities and improve our economy,” Dixon said in a statement. “Like me, Shane is concerned about the impact rising prices are having on our families.”
To be added to the ticket, Hernandez must receive an “affirmative vote” from party delegates at Republicans’ Aug. 27 nominating convention in Lansing.
One of Dixon’s primary opponents, chiropractor and anti-coronavirus restrictions activist Garrett Soldano, said he was considering seeking the nomination despite Dixon’s announcement and will “take these next few days,” talk with his family and “stay in prayer.”
Dixon, of Norton Shores, has no government experience, leading some within the GOP to suggest it was important for her to find someone to help usher through her legislative agenda if she unseats Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, similarly to what outsider businessman Rick Snyder did in 2010 when he chose then-legislator Brian Calley. Dixon co-hosted a show on a conservative streaming news network before running for governor and previously worked as a sales manager in the steel industry.
Political experts say while a running mate pick does not necessarily help a candidate win, vetting is important because a bad choice could be a drag on the ticket.
Hernandez said he is honored to run with Dixon.
“Her vision is the right one for Michigan, and I believe will we defeat Whitmer and begin to repair the damage she’s caused to our families, students and business owners,” he said in a statement.
Dixon netted former President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the closing days of the primary but is viewed by some in the grassroots as too tied to the “establishment,” which potentially complicated her calculus during the search. If delegates do not affirmatively back Hernandez, they can consider candidates nominated from the convention floor.
“I am confident delegates will embrace Shane and, united, we will defeat Gretchen Whitmer in November,” Dixon said.
Soldano, who has criticized Dixon for her backing from the DeVos family, said on Facebook of his thinking: “I will continue to do my best and do what is right for our state, but more importantly, for the PEOPLE in our state.”
Hernandez helmed the House budget committee during the governor’s first two years in office. There was a budget impasse after lawmakers rejected her proposed 45-cents-a-gallon fuel tax increase to increase road funding, and then the pandemic struck.
“The No. 1 goal of selecting a running mate is no unforced errors,” said John Sellek, founder and CEO of Harbor Strategic Public Affairs and a senior strategist for Republican Bill Schuette’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign. “This appears to be a solid pick of someone both with a deep knowledge of the state budget and the GOP street cred of having come up from the grassroots of the party.”
Hernandez served in leadership with former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, who is under investigation for alleged sexual assault and financial misconduct — something Democrats could highlight given he got campaign donations from some of Chatfield’s funds.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said Hernandez “has made banning abortion without exceptions a priority throughout his career.”