NBA legend Magic Johnson cast his support in the Michigan gubernatorial race on Monday, expressing his support for incumbent Democrat Gretchen Whitmer over Republican challenger Tudor Dixon.
Johnson, who lives in Los Angeles and is a part-owner for several California sports teams, wrote his message of support on Twitter. The former Los Angeles Lakers point guard attended Michigan State and was known for his NCAA championship battle with Larry Bird during his collegiate career.
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“I hope that Governor Gretchen Whitmer gets another four years as Governor of Michigan!” he tweeted.
Johnson was at a Whitmer rally on Michigan State University’s East Lansing campus ahead of Election Day, according to WWMT.
The latest polling shows Whitmer with a nearly nine-point lead over Dixon ahead of Tuesday’s election, with the incumbent sitting at 51.7% support and challenger at 43.1%.
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According to a new WDIV/Detroit News poll, inflation and abortion are the top issues for Michigan voters. Dixon’s greatest weakness is among independent voters, who favor Whitmer 57% to 30%.
Democrats across the country have pressed to make abortion the central issue of the midterm election cycle, but they have found only mixed success. In most of the country, economic issues like gas prices and inflation have taken priority for voters, pressing abortion sometimes out of their top five issues.
Abortion has remained more prominent in the Michigan gubernatorial race, however, where it was still supplanted by inflation but nevertheless retained the second-highest issue importance from voters.
Former President Obama campaigned for Whitmer in Detroit over the weekend as part of a national tour rallying Democrats in key battleground states. At a rally on Saturday, Obama said Republicans are “obsessed” with “owning the libs” instead of issues that matter to voters.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
