GOP learning the hard way in Michigan that Trump's backing means little to general election voters

Republicans have largely abandoned Donald Trump's hand-picked choice for Michigan governor, but the former president continues to offer his support to the increasingly long-shot candidate.

The former president will headline a rally Saturday for gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon and other Republicans in the state as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer piles up an enormous fundraising lead -- $16.5 million to $924,000 -- and the national GOP is leaving her to fend for herself, reported NBC News.

“Isn’t that sad that Democrats have to spend so much money?” Dixon said when asked whether she was disappointed by the lack of assistance.

Whitmer and the Democrats have set aside $24 million in ads for the gubernatorial race between now and Election Day, while Republicans have reserved only $4 million as the Republican Governors Association has decided to prioritize races in other states.

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The former president has made Michigan a priority after narrowly losing the state to President Joe Biden, and he has endorsed Dixon and other Republicans who have backed his false election fraud claims, but GOP strategists say Trump's endorsement and financial backing from the DeVos family pushed a weak candidate across the finish line in a crowded gubernatorial primary.

“Tudor Dixon would be a much stronger nominee today if she won on the strength of her own candidacy,” said GOP strategist John Yob. “The famous lesson is that it’s better to teach them to fish than to buy them a fish. Now we’re at a place where she can’t raise enough money to run a real campaign and somebody has to decide whether they’re going to come up with the $10 million or so it would take to make her competitive.”