SAINT CLAIR SHORES, Michigan — Republicans need to have better conversations in their communities if they want to see former President Donald Trump in the White House again, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and GOP former Michigan gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon said Friday evening at a town hall in Saint Clair Shores.

Following the Thursday conclusion of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, where Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the party’s presidential nomination, Noem and Dixon held an event in Macomb County. The pair, both endorsed by Trump in their bids for governor in the past, answered questions about the November election from residents and rallied support for Trump in Macomb County, where Trump secured a majority of votes in 2020, despite losing the state.

The goal of the night was to make people uncomfortable, Noem said in addressing the crowd of around 300 attendees — uncomfortable that they only have so many hours in a day to talk to people, to tell them how much they love America and bring the message of “hope” that Republicans bring.

“Our policies that we believe in, they bring that. They bring a belief in our Constitution, the opportunity that it provides to grow up in America and have every opportunity in front of you, not equal outcomes, but equal opportunities to be successful and to go on and do with your life what you feel called to do. And that’s really the conversation we need to have with people this election cycle,” Noem said. “We have decided that it’s more important to be right than to go out and win the hearts and minds of people, than to go out there and really talk to people and spend time having conversations about what it means to their family.”

Noem also is scheduled to speak at the Michigan Republican Party state convention Saturday in Flint.

During the DNC and In the next few weeks before the Nov. 5 election, a lot is going to be said about Trump and Harris. Republicans are going to have to decide to “not to be offended and to keep the relationship” if they want to change minds in their communities, Noem said.

“Your words have power,” Noem said. “Choose not to be offended by political conversations you’re having with people. Choose instead to recognize that the words that you speak will impact somebody, and try to speak different words that change their perspective, help them think about this election different than they have.”

And it can start at the grocery store, where Noem said she likes to occasionally work the checkout line like she did in college in order to learn about the needs and concerns of South Dakotans. Even the price of pickles can spark a conversation that could change someone’s perspective.

Republicans need to change their thinking when it comes to reaching out to different groups in states, Dixon said, recalling one campaign event during her race for governor in 2022 where a group of men from Dearborn, which sits in traditionally Democratic Wayne County, came to listen to Republicans.

“They said, ‘You know, we were told that if we came to this event, we would be kicked out.’ And they said, ‘Then we sat here and we heard a lot of things that mean something to our community,’” Dixon said. “I think that it’s a shame on us, but it’s also a new world where we are realizing that it’s time for us to reach everybody. It’s time for us to go to the places that everybody told us, ‘well, you never accepted there.’”

During that election, several Michigan towns and cities had clashes over banning books. In Dearborn, some Muslims and conservative Christians joined forces to oppose books with LGBTQ+ characters and issues in public schools — which was also a major agenda item for Dixon. She lost the election to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

Among those who asked questions at the St. Clair Shores event, Jason Woolford, the Republican nominee for Michigan’s 50th House District in GOP-dominated Livingston County, asked for advice on how to engage voters in local and federal elections.

Michigan is the epicenter of many political battles. It’s a highly sought-after state in the presidential race, and with a U.S. Senate seat up for grabs, it could impact which party is in control of the upper chamber in 2025. At the state level, the parties are battling for control of the Michigan House in November. For the last two years, Democrats in Michigan have held total control of the offices of the governor’s, secretary of state, attorney general, as well as both chambers of the Legislature.

Republicans “are so viciously attacked” Dixon said, invoking conversation about the assassination attempt on Trump last month at a rally in Pennsylvania. “You’ve seen for months they’ve called Donald Trump a threat and then, of course, when people are called a threat, someone wants to eliminate the threat. … And boy, does that discourage people from running as Republicans right now.”

The shooter at the Trump rally has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was a registered Republican, and was shot and killed by police.

So many of the problems Republicans are worried about like growing taxes, rising inflation and insecure borders can be solved when Michigan mobilizes to elect Trump and flip the state House, Noem said, adding that Whitmer is “a wreck” and “somebody should run against her.”

Dixon lost to Whitmer in 2022 by well over 400,000 votes. Whitmer is term-limited in 2026.

Running for office is not easy and it’s hard to know who to trust, Dixon said. But Republican governors across the country offered their support to her back in 2022 including Noem, who would talk to her and have lunch with her.

Noem rejects more than $70 million in federal funds for energy and environmental programs

Facing an uphill battle in November, Barry Altman, the GOP nominee for the 7th House District in highly Democratic Detroit, asked for financial help and guidance from Noem and Dixon.

In the August primary, Altman won the Republican slot with under 200 votes, while his Democratic opponent in November, Tonya Myers Phillips, won with nearly 5,000 votes.

Noem asked who she could make a check out to to support his campaign and Dixon said she’d take his phone calls for help.

“That falls on all of us who have run before to answer your call,” Dixon said. “And I mean it to answer your call and say, ‘We know someone. I know someone. Let me help you. Let me introduce you. Let me move you along.’ Because this is a group effort, and the Democrats do it.”

Democrats, namely Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have taken to calling Republicans “weird.” But Noem reasoned that the concerns Republicans are bringing to the forefront on border control and axing taxes get to the heart of what just about every household in America is concerned about: health, safety and a future for everyone’s kids.

“I don’t think you have to be philosophical about this election,” Noem said.

She cautioned the crowd to cut through the noise and look at the track record of candidates and share what candidates have said versus what they have done.