Gretchen Whitmer is said to be one of the top names for the plum job.
With Joe Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 US Presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris will most likely secure the Democratic nomination at the upcoming party convention in August. On November 5, when roughly 244 million eligible American voters go out to vote, they will have a chance to elect the first woman president to office.
And it may well see another first in American politics. An all-woman team at the helm, if Kamala Harris picks Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer as her running mate.
Who is Gretchen Whitmer?
1. Gretchen Whitmer was born on August 23, 1971, in East Lansing, Michigan. Her parents, both attorneys, divorced when she was 10, and she moved to Grand Rapids with her mother. Whitmer attended Michigan State University, intending to become a sports broadcaster, but interned with a state representative and decided to study law instead. She graduated with a law degree in 1998 and got into private practice. In 1999, she was elected chair of the East Lansing Transportation Commission, which started her career in public service.
2. In 2000, Gretchen Whitmer ran for the Michigan House of Representatives and won, focusing on education, healthcare, and environmental issues. She was reelected in 2002 and 2004, serving on the Appropriations Committee. In 2003, she introduced a bill to raise alcohol taxes and improve fire protection, gaining Governor Jennifer Granholm's support. In 2005, Whitmer was named the Most Effective Democrat in the Michigan House.
3. In 2006, Gretchen Whitmer won a special election to the Michigan State Senate, replacing Virg Bernero. She was reelected in 2010 and became the Senate Democratic Leader in 2011, the first woman to hold the position. In 2013, Gretchen Whitmer shared her personal experience of being a rape victim to advocate for abortion rights. In 2016, she was appointed to serve as Ingham County Prosecutor after Stuart Dunnings III resigned due to charges of misconduct. She focused on investigating if others knew about Dunnings' crimes and improving how the office handled domestic violence and sexual assault cases. Her term ended on December 31, 2016.
4. Gretchen Whitmer ran for Michigan governor in 2018, winning against Republican Bill Schuette in the general election by a 10-point margin. In 2022, Whitmer was reelected to a second term, defeating Republican Tudor Dixon by nearly 11 points. In 2020, she was chosen to give the Democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union address. This selection was seen as an effort to boost Democratic chances in Michigan, a key swing state in the presidential election at the time. Shortly after, Whitmer endorsed Joe Biden and joined his campaign as a national co-chair, just before the Michigan primary.
5. In October 2020, Gretchen Whitmer was the target of a kidnapping plot. The FBI arrested 13 people affiliated with the Wolverine Watchmen militia group, who planned to kidnap her from her vacation home and potentially harm other law enforcement officials. The suspects conducted surveillance on Whitmer's home and planned to use explosives and other violent tactics to achieve their goals. The plot was reportedly motivated by the suspects' opposition to Whitmer's COVID-19 pandemic policies and their perception of her as a tyrannical leader. Whitmer, at the time, stated she was "shaken" but unharmed by the plot.