Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer got one of the most valuable speaking slots at the Democratic National Convention ― on its last night and in prime time, just a few speakers before presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech.
And Whitmer used that opportunity to promote the vice president as somebody who understands the challenges facing everyday Americans, is qualified to govern in a crisis and can “GSD” ― get stuff done.
“Kamala Harris knows who she is fighting for,” Whitmer said. “Kamala Harris, she gets us. She sees us. She is us.”
In touting these qualities, Whitmer made clear the contrast with the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, describing him as a tycoon who had probably never been to a grocery store and as somebody who could not be trusted to manage a crisis.
“One day, when you’re just trying to get everyone out the door, a news alert goes off,” Whitmer said, describing an imaginary crisis. “Something happened, something hit the fan. You’ll ask, Is my family going to be OK? And then you will ask, Who the hell is in charge? What if it’s him? What if it’s that man from Mar-a-Lago?”
By contrast, Whitmer said, Harris is “tough, tested and a total badass.”
Of course, people have said the same thing about Whitmer, who famously sparred with Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic and has emerged as one of the nation’s fiercest defenders of abortion rights.
In 2022, Whitmer won reelection by more than 10 percentage points. That performance, in a tightly divided state essential to Democratic presidential fortunes, fueled speculation she might end up on a national ticket someday.
That speculation intensified and became more urgent in late June, when it became clear President Joe Biden might drop his reelection bid. Polls testing hypothetical matchups showed Whitmer to be one of the Democrats’ strongest potential challengers to Trump.
But the matchup was not to be. When Biden announced his decision, Whitmer quickly said she wasn’t interested and backed Harris ― and then, shortly after that, said she wasn’t interested in becoming Harris’ running mate.
The first decision was entirely predictable, given how quickly Harris consolidated her support in the party. The second decision was a bit more surprising, given Whitmer’s potential to lock down Michigan in the general election ― although, truth be told, the odds of Harris rolling the dice on a ticket with two women were always pretty low.
Whitmer, for the record, has always maintained she simply wants to keep her commitment to finish out her second term as governor ― a claim that sounds plausible given her intense, almost goofy boosterism for her home state.
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But though Whitmer isn’t on the ticket, her style of politics is.
It’s there most obviously in the politician Harris did choose as a running mate: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. He’s basically a male version of Whitmer, and not simply because he’s also the governor of an Upper Midwest state. He’s got the same plainspoken style, the same I-could-be-your-neighbor affect.
He’s also governed in the same way, taking advantage of newly elected Democratic majorities to pass a slew of new initiatives ― like free school meals for kids, now law in both Michigan and Minnesota ― that use government to make people’s lives better in clear, tangible ways.
Neither has a record as a progressive crusader, notwithstanding Republican attempts to portray Walz as a radical. On health care, for example, they talk about expanding existing Medicaid programs, not creating “Medicare for All.”
That doesn’t mean they are mild-mannered. “Moderation” in the Democratic Party once meant triangulating between left and right, avoiding strong stands ― or strong words ― that might antagonize someone. The moderation Walz and Whitmer model is forceful, even fierce, especially when it comes to defending personal freedoms such as reproductive rights.
And it’s the way Harris now says she wants to govern.
In the month she’s been campaigning, she hasn’t talked about ambitious reforms that will transform America. Instead, she’s focused on narrower, concrete reforms efforts ― providing more money for child care, giving the federal government more leverage over drug prices ― that can make people’s lives better in the same way Walz and Whitmer have for their residents.
It’s a departure from her rhetoric and promises during the 2020 primaries, when she endorsed a more progressive agenda. But that was a time when Harris was struggling to introduce herself to the Democratic primary electorate and vie for votes with more progressive candidates, such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Harris aides have said she’s no longer interested in pursuing those progressive causes. Republicans say those promises are not sincere, and ultimately it’s up to Harris to demonstrate that they are.
But Whitmer on Thursday made it clear she thinks Harris is the same kind of Democrat that she and Walz are: Democrats focused on achieving what they can because they think that’s the surest way to make people’s lives better.