What Shane Hernandez brings to Tudor Dixon's run for Michigan governor

Shane Hernandez, Tudor Dixon's running mate pick in the race for Michigan governor, provides something that the rest of the Republican statewide ticket lacks: political experience.

Dixon, attorney general candidate Matthew DePerno and secretary of state candidate Kristina Karamo are outsiders. If Dixon can upset Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the November election, her lieutenant governor — assuming he is confirmed by party delegates at a convention this weekend — will be no stranger to Lansing.

Here's what to know about Hernandez, 40, of Port Huron.

Legislative history
Hernandez won election to the Michigan House in 2016, representing a district in the Thumb. After one term, he became chair of the House Appropriations Committee, which drafts spending bills. He passed on a third, final House term and instead ran for the congressional seat that opened with the late Republican Paul Mitchell's retirement. He lost a three-candidate GOP primary to Lisa McClain in 2020.

Then-incoming House Speaker Jason Wentworth hired Hernandez to stay aboard and work for the House Republican caucus. He was strategy director, then policy director and finally services director until leaving in June.

Career
Hernandez, who grew up in Croswell and is a 2000 graduate of Croswell-Lexington High School, is an architectural designer by trade. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. He worked for almost a dozen years at SyDesign, a Port Huron architectural firm, before becoming a lawmaker.

Then-incoming House Speaker Jason Wentworth hired Hernandez to stay aboard and work for the House Republican caucus. He was strategy director, then policy director and finally services director until leaving in June.

Career
Hernandez, who grew up in Croswell and is a 2000 graduate of Croswell-Lexington High School, is an architectural designer by trade. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture from Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. He worked for almost a dozen years at SyDesign, a Port Huron architectural firm, before becoming a lawmaker.

Dixon got good news Monday when a better-known primary rival, third-place finisher and chiropractor Garrett Soldano, decided not to pursue a challenge after saying he was considering it.

Hernandez had a brief stint chairing a local tea party chapter and was a conservative legislator. But some in the party's grassroots wing view Dixon with suspicion due to her support from more establishment figures like the DeVos family, though she nabbed a last-minute primary endorsement from former President Donald Trump. During Trump's first presidential run, Hernandez criticized his proposed border wall and backed U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz for president, but he later supported Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Hernandez was among Republican lawmakers who called for a "forensic assessment" after Trump falsely claimed he defeated Joe Biden.

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