Michigan Dems Have ‘Pleaded’ with Gretchen Whitmer to Run for President in 2024: Report

by Mary Lou Masters

 

Democrats in Michigan have “pleaded” with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to run for president in 2024, citing concerns about President Joe Biden, according to Politico’s Jonathan Martin.

State lawmakers are encouraging Whitmer, Michigan’s two-term Democratic governor, to seek the party’s nomination in 2024 despite her previously ruling out a White House bid, sources familiar told Martin. Several Democratic colleagues from other states have pushed the Michigan lawmakers to plead with the governor to reconsider, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus, citing concerns over the president’s low approval ratings.

“I think it’s time for Joe to move on,” Livonia Mayor Maureen Brosnan told Politico. Whitmer would “be a great president,” Brosnan added.

Biden’s most recent approval rating sits at 40 percent among registered voters, according to a survey conducted from July 1 to July 5 by The Economist/YouGov.

“’That woman from Michigan’ would be amazing against Trump,” Jen Eyer, an Ann Arbor city councilor, told Politico.

Though many state Democrats have voiced their support for a Whitmer presidential run, the governor dismissed her White House aspirations, and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist maintained Whitmer will support Biden in 2024, according to Politico.

Yes, Every Kid

“There’s a distinction between waiting your turn and supporting leadership that you appreciate,” Gilchrist said.

In June, Whitmer launched a federal political action committee, Fight Like Hell PAC, to help support Biden and other Democratic candidates in 2024. Whitmer has consistently thrown her support behind the president, and praised his “record of delivering” in February, dismissing concerns about his age in a reelection bid.

The RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for the 2024 national Democratic primary, based on polls conducted between June 5 and June 26, indicates Biden is leading by roughly 50 points, followed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Willaimson at 14.4 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.

Prior to Whitmer’s gubernatorial bid, she served in both chambers of the state legislature, and was state Senate minority leader in 2011, according to Ballotpedia. In 2018, Whitmer beat the Republican opposition, then-Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, 53.3 percent to 43.7 percent, and safely secured reelection in 2022 against GOP nominee Tudor Dixon.

Whitmer faced wide-spread criticism for her lockdown policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly when she advised Michiganders not to travel. Despite barring residents from visiting their summer homes and rental properties in the northern part of the state, Whitmer traveled on her private jet to Florida. The governor also outlawed selling gardening seeds and supplies, deeming them “not necessary.”

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Mary Lou Masters is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.

 

 


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One Thought to “Michigan Dems Have ‘Pleaded’ with Gretchen Whitmer to Run for President in 2024: Report”

  1. Dr Ken

    This is nothing more than Whitmer floating a trial balloon to see if there might be any interest in her. From friends in Michigan, she is seem almost in comical terms and known for inability to get anything done. Recall, her campaign slogan was “fix the damn roads”. Well, she has failed miserably in that promise. She flubbed Michigan when they needed strong leadership during the partisan COVID shut down. She was lost when Flint experienced the water crisis. She carries an approval rating of 40%, folks that is terrible. Biden is considered inept and he is running at 38%. Whitmer doesn’t have a chance although any few votes she garners will be at the expense of Biden. She might be opening the door for Kennedy.

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