Tim Skubick

Kevin Rinke is slightly out of sync with many of his fellow Michigan Republicans many of whom, he contends, are more focused on “being right rather than happy” when it comes to their attitude about advancing their political agenda.

Based on a recent interview with the affable former car dealer owner turned wanna be governor, you have to wonder if his take on politics is different based a high school encounter with a former governor everybody knows.

The high achiever high school journalist was working on the school newspaper and the hot item on the minds of many of his avid readers had to do with the legal drinking age in Michigan. He told his teacher/advisor he was going to write a piece on it and was going to interview the governor of Michigan.

So one day he jumps in his stick shift Pontiac Sunfire, his father owned car dealerships, and headed up 96 to the state capitol where he entered the office on the second floor and advised the secretary he was there to interview the governor.

“Do you have an appointment?” she asked while knowing the answer in advance.

Of course he did not and he said so.

She made it clear that door to his right down a short hallway would remain closed to him until and unless he got on the list.

Undaunted, he launched into a “pitch” along the lines of, isn’t he the governor for all the state including students?

The secretary got on the phone and out comes, Gov. William G. Milliken.

“He gave me 15 minutes,” the ex-reporter joyfully tells a panel of reporters who can appreciate the hutzpah he displayed.

Fast forward to 2022 and Kevin Rinke runs for a chance to sit in the office he visited way back win.

Donald Trump endorses Tudor Dixon for the GOP nomination, and Mr. Rinke finishes second and so does she against Gretchen Whitmer.

He is not amused. He thought he should have won and was totally convinced he would have been a better governor than Ms. Dixon.

He commences on a mission of 111 townhall meetings to take the temperature of his Republican party colleagues and he soon concludes that are some out there who do not share his views that, come to find out, are pretty darn close to that governor he interviewed way back when.

“My issues might have been too central because they moved everyone forward. They might not have been severe enough for the primary voters in that far-right Republacian group that likes to put forth candidates that can’t win when it comes to statewide postions.” He adds many of the GOP candidates for office are “nice people” but don’t have the right chops to govern.

Mr. Rinke says to be successful you must compromise…again sounding like that other governor whom he reveals did influence him in part because Mr. Milliken was “governor for all the people.”

“The Republicans right now like to complain but they don’t like to come together. If my guy doesn’t win, I’m not going to vote,” he describes the attitude of many of those far right R’s.

He goes on, “If the only reason people turnout is because Donald Trump is on the ticket, the Republicn party in Michigan is in big trouble. They have to be willing to compromise…There is a paranoia that everybody has to agree. Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?” He asserts the majority in the party want to be right.

So when it got around to the governor race for 2026, he took a “serious” look at it, but based on what was going on in his party, he wasn’t willing to “invest my time nor my treasure if the people aren’t willing to win.”

Hence he will sit on the sidelines. He will not endorse anyone.

And at the end of the Off the Record broadcast, this statement about what might have been.

“Candidly, may arrongantly, we would have had a Republican governor sitting across from you today vs. an ex-candidate for governor and Michigan would look different.”

Pretty good bet, Gov. Milliken might be smiling up there.