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% 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.
“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% and 5.7%, 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% to 43.7%, 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.”
Neither Whitmer nor the White House immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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