Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer may have been a late endorser of Joe Biden’s presidential bid, but she has emerged as a top candidate for his running mate.
The former vice president on Tuesday told MSNBC host Brian Williams that the Michigan governor is one of his top choices, even as he has yet to wrap up the Democratic nomination against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Whitmer, 48, “made [the vice-presidential list] in my mind two months ago,” said Biden, 77.
Those remarks earned a coy response from Whitmer’s office, saying she was “flattered” but “right now she is focused 100% on doing everything she can to slow the spread of the coronavirus.”
Whitmer didn’t endorse Biden’s candidacy until the day before the Michigan primary, a relatively late show of support following his stunning wins on Super Tuesday, and after his former rivals such as Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar told their voters to switch to him once they left the race. Immediately after Whitmer’s endorsement, she joined Biden’s campaign as a co-chairwoman.
Biden has pledged to choose a woman for vice president as his running mate, and Whitmer could benefit him in several ways. President Trump famously won the presidency in 2016 by narrowly capturing the electoral votes of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. She could help pull it back in the Democratic column.
And Whitmer won the governorship in 2018, after 14 years as a state legislator, with a practical-minded message with echoes of Biden’s approach to government — “fix the damn roads.”
And a year into office, Whitmer has emerged as a vocal critic of Trump’s response to the coronavirus. She’s needled the Trump administration over a shortage of medical supplies for states. Trump, for his part, is unleashed some of his most aggressive invective against Whitmer, at one point dismissing her as “the woman in Michigan.”
That’s helped make Whitmer a popular “resistance” figure, though she’s demurred about the possibility of seeking national office in 2020 as Biden’s running mate.
“I’m going to help him vet and make sure he’s got a great running mate. It is not going to be me,” Whitmer said after her endorsement of Biden. “But I’m going to have a hand in helping make sure that he has got the rounded out ticket that can win.”
Ideologically, both Whitmer and Biden are aligned on key issues. As governor, she expanded Medicaid coverage in the state but remains critical of any “Medicare for all” proposals touted by left-wing figures such as Sanders.
“It’s not a real option right now,” she told Crain’s Detroit Business in 2018, when asked about single-payer proposals. “The projections tell us it’s not realistic in Michigan at this moment.”
She has also proposed that all high school students in the state be eligible for two years of free college or trade school, a plan similar to Biden, who wishes to make all public education free for families below a certain income level. In contrast, Sanders wants to eliminate college debt for everyone in the United States and make college entirely free.
Her nearly 10-point victory in Michigan, which Trump narrowly won in 2016, leads many Democrats to believe she can help rebuild the Democratic Party’s appeal in the Midwest.
In February, Whitmer gave the Democratic Party’s response to the State of the Union, an honor normally reserved for who party leaders believe best represents the future of the party. During her remarks, Whitmer focused on women’s issues such as equal pay and family leave, signaling the party’s commitment to suburban women who traditionally vote Republican, while also vowing the protect the Affordable Care Act.
“American workers are hurting. In my own state. Our neighbors in Wisconsin. And Ohio. And Pennsylvania. All over the country. Wages have stagnated, while CEO pay has skyrocketed,” she said, potentially airing some general election arguments against Trump. “So when the president says the economy is strong, my question is: strong for whom?”
And Whitmer has gotten a significant bump in her job approval rating in the middle of this pandemic crisis, well above 50%, according to MRG pollster Tom Shields.
Recent surveys of voters show Biden holding a strong lead over Trump in Michigan, with a RealClearPolitics average of polls showing him with a nearly 4.5-point lead.
