Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) made what seems to have been a major mistake this week when she sent a mailing printed in and sent from Wisconsin after urging residents to support Michigan businesses amid her ongoing lockdown orders.

Last week, many residents of Michigan were sent an envelope that showed Whitmer at a construction site and the words: “Fixing the Damn Road Ahead — Together.” She had campaigned back in 2018 on a pledge to “fix the damn roads.”

The envelope includes markings and printed materials that show the postage was paid by Advanced Mail, a marketing company in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and the materials were also printed in Wisconsin, at a union shop.

A spokesperson for Whitmer’s campaign claimed that this was all just a misunderstanding.

“The Whitmer for Governor campaign has always worked closely with union- and Michigan-based printers, and will continue to do so in the future,” campaign spokesman Christopher Mills told The Detroit Free Press. “The vendor error has been corrected to ensure that the campaign can continue to support our relationship with local union printers.”

Records of Whitmer’s campaign finance disclosures show that she paid hundreds of thousands to Madison, Wisconsin-based Run the World for “direct mail.” Last July, Whitmer’s campaign committee paid the outfit $105,335, and it paid another $22,384 the next month. In September, the Michigan governor’s campaign paid Run the World $102,132 for “direct mail in-house.”

Many other payments were made to Run The World as well, including:

  • June 22, 2020: $95,702
  • May 1, 2020: $83,419
  • February 19, 2020: $23,702

Back in November, Whitmer spoke out to say, “Despite the adversity we have all faced this year, our small businesses have proven what it means to be a Michigander, by rising to the occasion and exemplifying true innovation, collaboration and Midwestern grit.”

“Our small businesses have not only supported their communities while keeping their employees, customers, and our brave front-line workers safe, but they have made us all proud to call Michigan our home,” she added at the time. “We all must continue doing our part to help our small businesses not only survive this ongoing pandemic but thrive long after it has ended.”

Whitmer has become infamous among many for enacting some of the strictest COVID-19 policies in the country on her state.