A Michigan Republican vying to unseat current Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer is set to air a new ad on Thursday targeting radical gender theory in schools and calling the governor “woke.”
In the ad, Garrett Soldano takes aim at what he calls the “woke groomer mafia,” who he blames for pushing radical gender theory on Michigan kids. He is one of a handful of Republican candidates on the August 2 primary ballot.
“I don’t co-parent with the government,” Soldano says in the 30-second ad. “My pronouns: conservative, patriot. The woke groomer mafia wants to indoctrinate and subjugate our kids to their woke fantasies. It’s time to fight back.”
Soldano will release the ad Thursday on Detroit-area Fox News stations, and the commercial will go state-wide in the coming weeks, a spokesman for the Soldano campaign told The Daily Wire.
The commercial flags a headline from a recent Fox News story on a Michigan middle school reportedly hiding students’ transgender status from parents. In response, Soldano says he will “turn Michigan into the parents’ rights capital of America, and transition woke Whitmer out of office.”
“This gender theory and sexual theory that’s being taught in schools, you have no right to do that. If you want to teach my kid critical anything, you teach him critical thinking, critical math, critical reading. You can teach my kid how to critically think, not what to think,” Soldano, a father of two, told The Daily Wire in an interview.
Soldano said he wants to pursue education policies similar to those of Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, whose Parental Rights in Education bill banned discussion on gender identity and sexual orientation for kindergarten through third-grade classrooms.
The GOP candidate told The Daily Wire that when it comes to education, he sees more of the problem with teachers unions than individual teachers. “We don’t have a teacher problem,” Soldano said. “We’re not going to allow a few bad apples to spoil the whole bunch.”
The solution to the problem in schools is getting more parents “involved” and “engaged” with their children’s education, according to Soldano.
Another Michigan Republican running for governor recently made news when she called out those targeting children with radical gender theory. Earlier this month, Tudor Dixon tweeted, “As Governor, I will sign a bill that creates severe criminal penalties for adults who involve children in drag shows.”
“This type of behavior is criminal child sexually abusive activity,” she continued. “We will make Michigan the toughest state in the country on child sex abusers.”
As the race for the Republican nomination heats up, both Soldano and Dixon have shown they are willing to tap into culture war issues to strike a chord with Michigan voters.
“What’s happening right now is hot garbage,” Soldano said in reference to public education, adding, “I will always stand up for the ones who can’t stand for themselves, for these children. And I will always back these parents for standing up against this garbage.”