Michigan Matters: Election 2018 Calley, Colbeck join in Gubernatorial Fray

(CBS Detroit) - With the governor's race quickly heating up, two more candidates stopped by to sit with CBS 62 Senior Producer/Host Carol Cain as they appeared on "Michigan Matters" to discuss their campaigns and issues simmering this week.

Lt. Governor Brian Calley has been by Gov. Rick Snyder's side for two terms. He's hoping to convince voters to give him the nod so he can take on the top job.

And State Sen. Patrick Colbeck also appeared with Cain. Calley discussed his hope to continue Snyder's imprint on the state and said education, roads were paramount. When pressed by Cain about Flint and the water crisis and the administration's role, Calley said he's made it a priority and spent so much time in Flint he paid income taxes there.

Calley slammed Attorney General Bill Schuette, a fellow Republican also running for governor, and said the AG's lawsuits against top leaders in Lansing over their handling of the Flint water situation was politically motivated.

Colbeck, an engineer by training, said he would take that methodical approach to finding a way to manage the state's budget better.

Colbeck talked about comments he made earlier about the Democratic candidate for Governor Abdul El-Sayed when he said El-Sayed was part of a Muslim conspiracy to take over America by using  'jihad techniques."

Cain read a portion of a statement El-Sayed's team had given her about his comments. The Democratic candidate said: "I knew that in choosing to run for governor as an unapologetic, proud Muslim and American, I was going to contend with the ugly face of white supremacy that Donald Trump and his friends have sanctioned....."

Colbeck offered a surprising response to El-Sayed's comments. Colbeck also talked about the sorry state of Michigan's roads and how he'd find a plan to fix them.

Watch MICHIGAN MATTERS Sunday at 11:30 on CBS 62.