During the COVID pandemic, attorney Kevin Kijewski fought to keep non-public schools open for tens of thousands of Michigan students.

More recently, he’s served as defense attorney for Cliff Frost, one of 15 alternative electors for President Donald Trump in 2020 who was targeted for prosecution by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

While that case remains ongoing, Kijewski announced at the Lapeer County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday he’s running to replace a term-limited Nessel in 2026.

“Thousands of elderly died alone separated from family and our children suffered setbacks in their education and socialization because of (Michigan Gov. Gretchen) Whitmer’s and Nessel’s unnecessary and oppressive COVID lockdowns,” Kijewski said in a statement. “As Michigan’s next AG, I’ll stop government overreach, support the rule of law, stop lawfare, support the Second Amendment, and prosecute crime.  Michigan deserves an Attorney General who does the AG’s job, not a radical misusing the power of the office.”

Kijewski’s announcement makes him the second candidate to enter the AG’s race, which is shaping up as a referendum on state government’s performance during the pandemic.

Democratic prosecutor Mark Totten announced his campaign for AG in mid-April, touting his leadership as the governor’s chief legal counsel between 2019 and 2022 – the prime years of the pandemic.

While Totten focused his campaign on holding the Trump administration accountable, Kijewski contends he’s focused on Michigan, citing issues including rampant lawfare at the AG’s office, election integrity, violent crime, and government fraud as top priorities.

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

“Michigan deserves an Attorney General who roots out corruption, prosecutes crime, and makes sure every legal vote counts,” he said. “Remember, earning trust for elections requires accountability for election fraud. No more games, no more excuses.”

In Lapeer County, Kijewski pointed to Nessel’s track record of “draconian actions” during COVID, attacks on religious charities, failures on the environment, and lawfare against her party’s political foes as evidence Michigan deserves better.

“We shouldn’t be going after electors. We shouldn’t be going after school board members. We shouldn’t be going after parents. We shouldn’t be going after people who wanted to keep their businesses open during COVID,” Kijewski said in a video interview with Braden Giacobazzi, vice chair of Michigan’s 9^th Congressional District Republican Committee.

“What we need to go after is people that are dangerous criminals and people that bring in this poison from other countries and they want to distribute it to our children here,” he said.

Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

Kijewski launched his campaign as Nessel faces increased scrutiny by House Republicans over many of the same issues he highlighted on Saturday.

Just last week, small business owners testified before the House Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government about their treatment at the hands of Whitmer and Nessel during the pandemic.

Both Owosso barber Karl Manke and Holland restaurant owner Marlena Hackney explained why they defied Whitmer’s COVID edicts, and the legal battles and mounting court fees they continue to face five years later.

The same committee is also seeking records from Nessel on her office’s bungled prosecutions in the Flint water crisis.

Committee Chair Rep. Angela Rigas, R-Caledonia, who herself was targeted for defying Whitmer’s COVID edicts to cut hair during a pandemic protest, wants itemized lists of costs and state funds spent on the Flint prosecutions, which spanned seven years but failed to produce convictions.

“House Oversight and the Subcommittee on Weaponization of State Government are finally pulling back the curtain on a critical issue that’s been years in the making,” Rigas said in a statement. “Many of our residents care deeply about the money spent on these prosecutions and want the details to come to light.”

Kijewski provides a stark alternative to Totten, who played a key role in giving the governor the go-ahead to unilaterally shut down most private businesses in the state for months, and to shutter taxpayer-funded public schools to in-person instruction for nearly a year during the pandemic.

Totten also advised as Whitmer ordered infected coronavirus patients to return to senior care facilities across the state following hospital stays, effectively fueling a wave of COVID related deaths some estimate at as high as 14,000.

Other questionable legal maneuvers by the governor during the pandemic centered on efforts to revoke the professional licenses of folks who opposed the pandemic edicts, threats to businesses that remained open during the lockdown, and arbitrary rules defining who is “essential” and therefore exempt from Whitmer’s stay home orders.

The Michigan Supreme Court eventually ruled the legal authority Whitmer relied on to extend her pandemic edicts was unconstitutional, opining that the governor must secure legislative approval for extended emergencies.

Totten also advised on two secret taxpayer-funded separation agreements for Whitmer officials at the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency and health department as the pandemic waned.