LANSING, Mich. — Eight of the 10 Republican candidates whom former President Donald Trump has endorsed for the Michigan Legislature signed a letter Thursday asking him not to "work" with his former education secretary and GOP mega-donor, Betsy DeVos.
"There is a war going on for the soul of the GOP in Michigan with Trump-endorsed candidates on one side and the establishment DeVos family on the other," the letter obtained by The Detroit News said.
Michigan Republicans who are close to DeVos have denied they're at "war" with Trump's preferred candidates. However, they have contributed to opponents of seven of them in recent weeks, as part of a larger effort that spans more than 25 contests.
The new letter came five days before Tuesday's primary election and as Republicans in Michigan wait to see whether Trump will endorse in the GOP race for governor. Conservative commentator Tudor Dixon, who's supported by the DeVos family, is viewed as one of the top contenders for Trump's backing.
But in their letter Thursday, candidates for the Michigan House and Senate who've already been endorsed by Trump said the DeVoses and their affiliated political groups are "spending hundreds of thousands of dollars" trying to defeat them.
"We strongly urge President Trump not to work with Betsy DeVos in Michigan," the three-paragraph letter concluded.
U.S. House candidate John Gibbs, who has Trump's backing and is challenging U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Mich., also signed the letter.
The message did not mention Dixon by name.
Many Republicans in Michigan believe Trump's potential endorsement would swing the five-candidate primary race for governor. The former president has previously made positive statements about Dixon, calling her "very special," but Dixon's opponents have criticized her for benefiting from large contributions from the DeVos family.
Members of the DeVos family have contributed $1 million to Michigan Families United, a political committee that's been sponsoring TV ads in support of Dixon
Businessman Kevin Rinke, one of the other Republican candidates for governor, has been funding ads claiming Dixon is "bankrolled" by Trump opponents. His commercials refer to Betsy DeVos.
DeVos resigned from Trump's Cabinet a day after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol when Trump supporters tried to disrupt the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory.
DeVos has since acknowledged that she discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment with other Cabinet members to remove Trump before his term ended, according to CNN.
The DeVos-funded Michigan Freedom Network and the Great Lakes Education Project, have endorsed opponents to seven of the eight Trump-backed candidates who signed the letter on Thursday. The eighth, GOP state Rep. Matt Maddock, doesn't have a primary opponent.
In addition to Rep. Maddock, state Senate candidates Mike Detmer and Jonathan Lindsey also signed the letter. Respectively, they're challenging Sens. Lana Theis and Kim LaSata, two incumbent Republican senators, in Tuesday's primary.
Members of the DeVos family have directly contributed to opponents of the seven candidates who signed the letter. The DeVoses are part of a group of longtime Michigan Republican donors who've invested more than $410,000 in 26 primary races for seats in the state Legislature, according to a past analysis by The Detroit News.
On Friday, former state House Speaker Jase Bolger, who donated to many candidates along with the DeVoses, said a similar strategy has been used by a group of Republican donors "cycle after cycle after cycle."
The candidates whom the donors supported will be part of a governing conservative majority, said Bolger, who added that he was speaking on his personal reasons for contributing.
"They’ll bring conservative principles to Lansing, but they’ll work to make their ideas a success," he said.
The only Trump-endorsed candidates for the Michigan Legislature who didn't sign the letter were Jon Rocha, who's running as a write-in candidate for the House, and Mike Hoadley, a House candidate who's also being supported by the DeVos family.
A spokesman for Betsy DeVos didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
After a debate in Pontiac on Wednesday night, chiropractor Garrett Soldano, one of the five GOP candidates for governor, said Trump's potential endorsement was still "up in the air."
Last week, Soldano publicly called on Trump to "stay out" of the primary race. He told reporters Wednesday he did that because his campaign "heard that there was an endorsement that was on" Trump's desk at that time.
Soldano said he wasn't certain which candidate Trump was close to endorsing at that moment.
