Susan J. Demas, Michigan Advance

On Nov. 8, 2022, Florida was the first big state where midterm election results started rolling in, confirming what most pundits believed was the story of the night: Democrats were in for a bloodbath.

The Sunshine State, which had been a key battleground in presidential races for decades, was now a conservative bastion, with Republicans flipping four congressional seats, winning a supermajority in both the state House and Senate and easily holding onto a U.S. Senate seat.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, then 44, was quickly crowned king of the night, as he notched an almost 20-point win, the largest for a Republican in state history.

As the night progressed, it became clear that the overhyped red wave was largely a mirage, with Republicans barely taking the U.S. House, while Democrats held the Senate and won key governorships.

In Michigan, many pundits who had breathlessly hyped an ultra-competitive gubernatorial race had egg on their faces. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer coasted to an 11-point win over Republican commentator Tudor Dixon, who had promised to “Florida our Michigan” with a DeSantis-style agenda of a “Don’t Say Gay” law, book bans and transgender athlete bans.

When the dust settled, Democrats easily held onto all the executive positions and flipped both chambers of the Legislature for the first time in almost 40 years. Voters also approved abortion and voting rights amendments by big margins.

In the two years since then, Democratic-led Michigan has embraced its role as the “anti-Florida,” with Whitmer signing laws barring discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, removing restrictions to abortion, setting clean energy goals, reforming gun laws, overturning Right to Work and more.

But DeSantis-mania didn’t abate at the national level. Some analysts quickly declared he had leapfrogged Donald Trump and was now the “frontrunner” for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, as he had billionaires Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch in his cheering section.

As we’ve seen play out in this election, DeSantis’ top advantage was clearly age. (That was President Joe Biden’s Achilles heel, as the Trump campaign identified, but the former president’s advantage crumbled once Biden departed and Vice President Kamala Harris jumped in the race in July).

There were a couple helpful puff pieces, (“Ron DeSantis Is Young, Has Little Kids and Wants America to Know It”), and his wife, Casey, desperately tried to channel Jackie Kennedy down to the bouffant (which earned her unflattering nicknames like “Tacky Onassis.”)

But for the most part, the Florida governor decided that the way to dethrone Trump was to run as far to his right as possible, playing up his extremist anti-LGBTQ+ agenda, boasting about his COVID skepticism and promising to be the anti-vaxxer-in-chief (a la the bumbling Jonah Ryan character in “Veep.”)

That was DeSantis’ first mistake, believing that he could turn Trump voters on policy. Sure, most Trump diehards like a lot of his agenda, like deporting illegal immigrants en masse and cutting more taxes for the rich.

But it’s Trump’s swagger, his promises to seek vengeance on his enemies and his ability to dominate others that his fans really respond to. The folks who show up at rally after rally, like hippies who used to follow the Grateful Dead, are decked out in shirts, hats and even belt buckles bearing Trump’s face because it’s a cult of personality.

DeSantis’ second miscalculation was betting he could project the same bravado as Trump and voters would fall in line as easily as pundits. But he just couldn’t pull that off, even as he mimicked Trump’s stiffness and even his look, down to the trademark navy suit and red tie.

An aide even shared a video of DeSantis laden with Nazi imagery that took swipes at Trump, in an effort to showcase the Florida governor’s brute strength. But the whole thing was so off-putting and heavy-handed (even to conservatives) that the post was quickly taken down and the staffer was fired.

And DeSantis couldn’t even muster the courage to attack Trump for the dozens of felonies he faced, calling charges in the 2016 hush money case “un-American” and vowing that he wouldn’t extradite the former president. In May, Trump was convicted in a New York court on all 34 felony counts.

One truism that’s held up, even in these tumultuous times, is that voters respond to authenticity. When Trump jeers the media as being the “enemy of the people” and thunders that he’ll throw Democrats in jail, his loyalists buy it.

DeSantis has been effective at wielding power in Florida, thanks to sycophantic lawmakers and courts, and disposing of duly-elected Democratic prosecutors who displease him.

But his tough guy act wasn’t built to go national. His presidential campaign was just an endless loop of awkwardness, from his weird, forced laugh, speculation over lifts in his footwear and uncanny resemblance to a robot attempting to express human emotion any time he tried to smile on the stump.

Trump barely broke a sweat savaging the man he nicknamed “Ron DeSanctimonious” — casually accusing him of pedophilia and having “no personality.”

While analysts and rich donors saw DeSantis as the perfect vessel for Trump’s agenda without the baggage, voters were never smitten — and he dropped out after a disastrous second-place showing in the Iowa caucuses in January.

Then came the ritual humiliation of endorsing Trump, which most of his former opponents, like Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy and eventually Nikki Haley, all did with varying levels of obsequiousness. DeSantis, however, could only deliver his through a clenched smile: “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.”

Having his former rivals grovel before him has to be 50% of the reason Trump keeps running for president (the other half seems to be trying to stay out of prison).

Months later, DeSantis has proved himself to be a loyal party apparatchik, which seems to be the role he’s best suited for. He’s aided Trump’s campaign and tried to prop him up in Florida, which has shown some signs of softening support for the GOP, particularly with an abortion rights measure on the ballot.

So DeSantis’ administration has launched a website — with state resources — hammering the measure as “dangerous.” It’s the same messaging anti-abortion forces used against Michigan’s 2022 ballot proposal (which they blasted as “Too confusing. Too extreme.”) But they didn’t have the power of state government behind them.

DeSantis has gone even further, deploying his “elections goon squad,” as Rolling Stone put it, to harass Floridians who signed petitions in favor of the reproductive rights amendment. Talk about a huge abuse of power.

And after a second possible assassination attempt against Trump this month — this one at his Florida golf course — DeSantis was more than happy to start meddling with a state probe of the incident after expressing skepticism with the federal investigation.

DeSantis bragged he had run the plan by Trump and it pleased him. Now Trump is demanding that DeSantis should be completely in charge of the case — overriding the FBI and Department of Justice.

“OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM IS CORRUPT AND DISCREDITED,” Trump said. “LET FLORIDA HANDLE THE CASE!”

So DeSantis is back in the right’s good graces — but only because he learned his place, which is serving at the pleasure of the ex-president in whatever capacity he chooses. That’s the same road that Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, went down and just look at him now.

It’s been over nine years since Trump rode down that golden escalator and announced his first Republican presidential bid. Two impeachments, dozens of felony charges and a failed coup later and it’s still his party.

Would another election loss change that? It’s honestly hard to say.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and X.

It’s no secret that former President Donald Trump’s campaign has been sputtering ever since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the race six weeks ago.

Down in most polls, Trump so clearly still wishes he was running against President Joe Biden — even writing fanfic on social media that his old nemesis will soon jump back in — and has yet to land on a clear strategy to defeat Harris. In fact, he’s even struggled to bestow a consistent nickname upon her, bouncing around between “Kamabla,” ‘Laffin’ Kamala” and “Comrade Kamala.”

When you cut through all the insults, meandering stories and off-color “jokes” from both Trump and his running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, their argument is this election should come down to Harris proving that she’s up to the job — and because she’s weak and dumb, she flunks that test.

The flip side is that Trump, of course, has nothing to prove — even though his presidency was an abject failure, aside from shoveling more tax cuts to billionaires. He prostrated himself to dictators like Vladimir Putin and made America a laughingstock; his slapdash, conspiratorial response to COVID doomed thousands to suffering and death; and he tried to instigate a coup to stay in power after he lost reelection, which ended with him becoming the only president to be impeached twice.

And Vance, who just turned 40 and hasn’t even served in the Senate for two years, doesn’t seem to believe he needs to show he’s qualified to be the VP for the oldest presidential nominee in history.

But at a rally in Big Rapids last week, Vance had plenty of questions about Harris’ abilities, asking the crowd if she was the “vice president or the vice principal” while complaining that she’s too busy “whining,” “running on a fake joy” and “telling a joke” to demonstrate to Americans why they should promote her to the Oval Office.

Then Vance argued that there was no way for Harris to compete with Trump’s strength and vision for the country, so her only option for their upcoming debate was to “put on a navy suit, and long red tie and adopt a slogan, ‘Make America Great Again.’”

It’s obvious why Trump thinks Vance deserves to be a heartbeat away from the presidency and why both of them believe it’s preposterous for Harris to be the commander-in-chief, despite her long résumé as a prosecutor, California attorney general, U.S. senator and vice president.

It’s the ultimate identity politics argument: Presidenting is for men.

And Kamala Harris is a woman — and a woman of color (a “DEI hire,” as some Republicans have sneered just to put a fine point on it). Case closed.

Team Trump was already pushing that it was a “boys vs. girls election” back when Biden was still in the race. As Axios cringingly put it: “It’s Donald Trump’s chest-beating macho appeals vs. Joe Biden’s softer, reproductive-rights-dominated, all-gender inclusivity” — hence a Republican National Convention that featured ‘80s wrestling star Hulk Hogan ripping off his shirt.

Now that Trump is running against a woman, he and Vance have just made the attacks more personal.

We saw Trump use this misogynistic playbook against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton back in 2016, when he slammed her as a “nasty woman” who “shouted” and lacked “the look” to be president. He also has a long history of disparaging Black women, in particular, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and U.S Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who he called “an extraordinarily low IQ person.”

Not surprisingly, Trump has repeatedly trashed Harris’ intelligence.

“I don’t think she’s a very bright person,” he said of the vice president late last month. “I do feel that. I mean, I think that’s right. I think I am a very bright person, and a lot of people say that.”

Trump also has been banging the drum that Harris is frail and feckless — even though he’s been the one trying to weasel out of debates — telling Fox News in July that world leaders would treat her “like a play toy.” That message has been reinforced by right-wing media figures like Jesse Watters, who mused if voters really want to “gamble the country away on a frightened woman.”

In a separate rant, Watters contended that “when a man votes for a woman, he actually transitions into a woman” — which probably came as a shock to Republican men who have voted for MAGA faves like Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

Then there was Trump’s hostile performance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) conference in July. He proclaimed that Harris, who is the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, just “happened to turn Black” in the middle of her career and asked, “So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”

Vance followed that up by trying to paint Trump’s crude racism as a clever line of attack. It’s perfectly legitimate to question Harris’ identity since she’s a “chameleon” and a “fundamentally fake person,” the senator told CNN.

Vance has undergone quite the metamorphosis himself, having gone from savaging Trump as “America’s Hitler” in 2016 to joining his ticket eight years later. But the one ideological throughline in his career has been his bizarre fixation on single women bucking their supposed biological imperative to reproduce.

“We are effectively run in this country … by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too,” Vance said in his most well-known diatribe in 2021. “It’s just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”

As a rising progressive star, AOC is frequently and weirdly subjected to right-wing male ire, but Vance’s other two targets reveal an even deeper ugliness. Harris is the mother of two stepkids (who call her “Momala”) and Buttigieg and his husband actually adopted twins just days after Vance’s interview.

Running mates are typically the ticket’s attack dogs and that’s a role Vance has embraced with gusto. But his offputting, elitist delivery often falls flat, whether he’s speaking at campaign rallies or attempting to order doughnuts (in sharp contrast to Trump, who was still greeted by adoring fans at last week’s rally in Potterville).

Meanwhile, Harris’ VP pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has been the happy warrior, framing Trump and Vance in simple terms: “These guys are weird” (which has clearly gotten under Trump’s skin, as he won’t stop talking about it).

It’s little wonder why Walz — who returned over the weekend to one of his favorite places, the Minnesota State Fair, to jovially serve up ice cream to throngs of people — is so much more popular than Vance in the polls.

But Vance has kept at it, recently posting an old meme of teen beauty queen Caitlin Upton stumbling through an answer on geopolitics with the caption: “BREAKING: I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview.”

He refused to back down — even when an interviewer informed him that Upton had once considered suicide — because Vance, who worships at the altar of toxic masculinity, knows that apologies are weak.

No foray into misogyny would be complete without speculation about Harris’ attractiveness and sexual history, so naturally Trump has weighed in, oddly telling his supporters, “I am much better looking than her. I’m a better-looking person than Kamala.”

Just a few days ago, he reposted a photo of Harris and Clinton, with the comment: “Funny how blowjobs impacted both their careers differently …”

Right-wing media types have been more than happy to jump on the vulgar bandwagon, with Watters painting a disturbing picture of generals “hav[ing] their way” with Harris and Megyn Kelly accusing the VP of having “slept her way to the top.”

Harris, of course, is no shrinking violet. She’s spent four years as the president’s understudy on the world stage and was known for slicing and dicing Republicans during her days on the Judiciary Committee — memorably leaving Brett Kavanaugh befuddled during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing and incensing Trump, who carped she was “extraordinarily nasty.”

No doubt, Trump and Vance assumed Harris couldn’t resist brawling with them over sexism and racism — and would come out looking weak, entitled and shrill to enough swing voters to turn the tide.

You could hardly blame Harris if she noted, for instance, that Vance appears to wear eyeliner to make his baby blues pop, while Trump squeezes into Spanx, all while they run on their macho MAGA platform.

But Harris has taken another tack. When CNN’s Dana Bash asked her last week about Trump ridiculing her racial identity at NABJ, the vice president dismissed it as “the same old tired playbook” and said, “Next question, please.”

Her message that the attack wasn’t even worthy of a response is powerful. Because if there’s one thing that Trump can’t abide, it’s being ignored. He’s devoted his entire life to ginning up media attention for whatever reason — real estate deals, bankruptcies, divorces, affairs, Trump steaks, even a board game — culminating with the most egocentric presidential campaigns we’ve ever seen.

But this is not a redux of Michelle Obama’s 2016 mantra of “when they go low, we go high.”

Consider Harris’ Democratic National Convention acceptance speech, when she declared, “In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”

The vice president then detailed how Trump has been found guilty of fraud, liable for sexual abuse, tried to “throw away your votes” in 2020 and “sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol” rather than peacefully concede.

Harris relishes taking the fight to Trump. But like women who truly understand how to wield power, she insists on doing it on her own terms.

Although Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy is just a week old, the conventional wisdom congealed almost instantly that the vice president will pick a male running mate.

And if some reports from over the weekend are correct, Harris has indeed narrowed the field to three men: U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — who President Joe Biden considered for VP four years ago — has reportedly been on Harris’ list, but says she’s not interested (although, come on, who’s going to turn that offer down?) But Whitmer has been considered a longshot because of the perceived risks of an all-female ticket.

That calculation shows a lack of imagination, however, and misreads both the political moment and Whitmer’s unique strengths that I’ve seen up close and personal in the 20 years I’ve been covering her since her days in the Michigan House

Just after Whitmer’s first inauguration in 2019, I wrote a column that was mocked by some Republicans and leftists alike: “Gretchen Whitmer will be a national star, whether you like it or not.” (In the years since, I’ve had folks hailing from both groups admit to me, however grudgingly, that I called it right).

Over the years, I’ve reported on a lot of memorable moments involving Whitmer.

There was the time that she, as Senate minority leader, organized a performance of “The Vagina Monologues” on the state Capitol lawn in 2012 — which was attended by the playwright, V — after two female lawmakers were silenced during an abortion bill debate for saying the words “vagina” and “vasectomy.” (The male GOP House speaker found it unladylike).

Later that year, Whitmer helped lead the unsuccessful fight against Right to Work and spoke during a protest that drew more than 10,000 people. (Last year, as governor, things came full circle when she signed the bills repealing the anti-union policy).

Then in 2013, Whitmer gave an emotional speech on the Senate floor disclosing for the first time that she was a rape survivor during a debate on a bill that barred insurance companies from covering abortion without a special rider, which she called “rape insurance.” (Whitmer signed legislation in 2023 repealing that measure, too).

When she ran for governor in 2018, a lot of Democratic poobahs whispered she couldn’t win after Hillary Clinton was bested by Donald Trump two years earlier and they desperately tried to find someone (i.e. a white guy) to run against her. At the same time, Bernie Sanders loyalists and national podcasters were swooning over one of her opponents, political novice Abdul El-Sayed, while basically dismissing Whitmer as the mom jeans candidate. And a third contender, now-U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, was busy shelling out more than $10 million of his personal fortune.

But after serving 14 years in the Legislature — and never losing a race — Whitmer knew how to outwork them. She went on to win an outright majority in the Democratic primary, as well as every Michigan county, before wiping the floor with her GOP opponent that fall.

I knew from reporting on all those stories — and many more — that Whitmer was a political talent, but here’s the moment that I knew she’d be on the national stage.

It was a frigid Saturday in January 2019, a few weeks after Whitmer took office. She had scheduled a meet-and-greet at the Grand Rapids Public Museum and 2,500 people turned out to see her, something I’d never seen in Michigan outside of late campaign events. And at an earlier event in Flint, the governor actually canceled her speech because people just wanted to talk and snap selfies with her.

It’s hard to define exactly what true star power is in politics, but you know it when you see it. And Gretchen Whitmer has it in spades.

Since then, she’s only become more well-known.

She landed on Biden’s VP shortlist, became Trump’s top target during the pandemic, made the international news for being the subject of a foiled, far-right assassination plot, became the Democrats’ leading voice on abortion rights, won reelection by double digits, marshaled a progressive agenda through a Legislature with the slimmest of Democratic majorities and hit the national talk show circuit for her new book. (And that’s just the highlights).

There’s a reason why Whitmer topped many pundits’ lists for 2028 contenders — and why more than a few longed for her to step in for Biden before he withdrew (although that analysis lacked an understanding of Democratic Party dynamics and campaign finance law).

Whitmer knows policy, delivers a fiery stump speech, gives an entertaining interview and is a quick-witted debater — all good qualities for a running mate.

She’s also a very good listener, which is one reason why she’s still mobbed at public events to this day. It doesn’t hurt that she seems approachable — and fun. That’s why her opponents have a hard time making attacks stick. While Republicans have tried to paint her as some sort of socialist antichrist, Whitmer still comes off as a mom you could crack jokes with during a long PTA meeting.

Of course, no politician is perfect. She lacks foreign policy experience, having spent her entire career in state government. She also can bend too much to public opinion, like when she ended state COVID policies in 2021 and left mitigation efforts up to locals governments and schools (who also got the blame).

Whitmer also genuinely hates going negative on her adversaries. During the 2022 election, her GOP opponent was a former right-wing talk show host who accused her of “ terrorizing” the state during the pandemic, ridiculed her over the assassination plot against her and blamed her for a school shooting. Whitmer declined to break out the hatchet (that’s what ads are for), instead unloading a quip or two before pivoting back to her agenda.

While Whitmer might not relish going for the jugular, that’s the traditional role of a running mate. And Harris is running a much more aggressive campaign than Biden (a press release last week on Trump described him as “a 78-year-old convicted felon” and “old and quite weird?”) So she may be looking for a brawler in her No. 2, especially during a debate with the endlessly mockable U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) (if you don’t know what I mean, just Google his name with couches or dolphins).

Of course, the biggest negative most political observers point to is Whitmer’s gender. The United States has never elected a woman president, unlike most of the developed world. And after Clinton’s unexpected loss eight years ago, why would Democrats push it by running an unheard-of all-female ticket?

The golden rule of picking a VP is first do no harm. But ideally, that person provides a boost with key voting blocs or states. With Whitmer on the ticket, the “Blue Wall” states — Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — should be in the bag. She’s popular at home and has a real track record of results over the last six years, even during divided government.

Plus, she has a killer Michigan accent (seriously, it sounds like a Bell’s Two-Hearted IPA wrapped inside a pasty) that can make even the driest policy sound folksy. And her homespun delivery would be a sharp contrast to Vance’s Yale-bred condescension.

As for the woman question, too many people are busy fighting the last political war and miss what’s right in front of them.

This is not the world of 2016. Women now know what a Donald Trump presidency is truly like with its near-endless misogyny.

It’s also been more than two years since the right-wing Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which has been an earthquake in electoral politics. Who better than to protect our basic rights and freedoms than two women who intimately understand what the stakes are?

And by the way, back in 2018, Democrats heard all about the perils of an all-female ticket with Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist was added later). That turned out pretty well for the party. The positive working relationship of “those women from Michigan” (a nickname they gave themselves after Trump blasted them all on Twitter) is also a nice counterpoint to outdated, catfighty stereotypes that are still splashed over reality TV.

Seeing that dynamic on a presidential ticket could be a game-changer.

In 1992, Bill Clinton and Al Gore tossing the football around in between campaign stops looked a lot more enjoyable than President George H.W. Bush’s stiff events. I don’t know if we’d see Harris and Whitmer share some laughs over a pitcher of margaritas, but that sounds like it would be a pretty good time.

Harris’ irreverent, brat-inspired campaign has managed to shift the vibes of the race overnight, bringing in $200 million in less than a week and 170,000 new volunteers. I think that speaks to the fact that after nearly a decade of Trump’s tirades and a long pandemic, people are tired of politics feeling like drudgery. They want it to be fun; they want to be part of something uplifting, like Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.

Look, I don’t know who Harris will pick as her VP and I can’t tell you who the best choice is. But I do think ruling out an all-female ticket would be a mistake.

On the day of the 2020 Michigan primary, Whitmer and I talked about Biden’s last rally in Detroit, where she looked exhilarated while trotting into the gym, making the rounds through the crowd and doling out high-fives. I remember her telling me that people need more joy and excitement in campaigns.

I think that’s even truer today.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and X.

Within minutes after President Joe Biden unexpectedly issued a letter announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race following weeks of criticism and speculation, Michigan Democrats hurriedly fired off social media posts praising him, while several Republicans demanded that he resign immediately.

Attorney General Dana Nessel, who had issued what many interpreted as a subtweet about Biden needing to resign, posted a magnanimous statement on social media Sunday afternoon comparing him to the nation’s first president

“President Biden will be remembered as one of the most successful and transformational presidents in U.S. history. His sacrifice of putting country before self makes him a modern-day George Washington,” she wrote.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has been a co-chair of Biden’s reelection campaign and been on pundits’ short list of his potential replacements, slammed former President Donald Trump while lauding Biden.

“President Biden is a great public servant who knows better than anyone what it takes to defeat Donald Trump. His remarkable work to lower prescription drug costs, fix the damn roads, bring supply chains home, address climate change, and ensure America’s global leadership over decades will go down in history,” Whitmer said. “My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families’ costs, banning abortion nationwide, and abusing the power of the White House to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan.”

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint) said that Biden “has dedicated his life in service to the American people. He has been a remarkable and effective president with historic accomplishments.

“Joe Biden will go down in history as one of America’s most effective presidents. Not only has he been an extraordinary leader with many accomplishments, but he has also shown the American people how to lead with honesty, decency and empathy. All Americans owe President Biden a debt a gratitude for his decades of service to the American people,” Kildee continued.

Kildee also “strongly” endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Democrats must immediately come together around Kamala Harris to defeat Donald Trump. Kamala Harris has already been elected and earned the trust of the American people, and she has served honorably as Vice President. She is uniquely qualified to serve as President of the United States,” he said. “Kamala Harris represents a new generation of leadership for our country, and I know she has what it takes to win in November.”

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.), who chairs the Democratic U.S. Senate campaign effort, said Biden’s decision will help the party’s fight to keep control of the upper chamber.

“President Biden has been and will continue to serve as one of our country’s greatest presidents, achieving tremendous results on issues that matter most to American families, and leading with purpose, dignity and resolve. His decision unifies our party and ensures Democrats are in the strongest possible position to defend our Senate majority,” Peters said.

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) wrote that Biden has “done more for MI during his presidency than any other president in my lifetime. In the past three & a half years, we’ve fixed thousands of roads & bridges, boosted manufacturing, brought jobs home, lowered the cost of prescription drugs & tackled the climate crisis.”

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said that “in the face of devastating loss and hardship, he has been a model to the nation of what it means to lead with grace, empathy, and kindness.

BREAKING: President Joe Biden bows out of reelection campaign

“President Biden has always been there for Michigan, and Michigan Democrats will always be grateful for his vision of a country that sets aside its differences and finds hope in a brighter future, together. Mr. President, you have been our fearless leader, our friend, and an incredible public servant — and we can never thank you enough,” she said.

Some Republicans dispensed with the niceties and blasted Biden in their initial statements.

“Once again, the Democrats have proven they put power ahead of our nation’s best interest. They are more concerned about the November elections than Biden being unable to do his job,” said Dr. Sherry O’Donnell, a GOP candidate for U.S. Senate. “He should not be just stepping aside from the Presidential race, but he should also be resigning. As a physician, I am appalled he is still going to be in the Oval Office for another six months.”

Michigan GOP Chair Pete Hoekstra simply retweeted Trump’s social media post slamming Biden:

“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was! He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement. All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t – And now, look what he’s done to our Country, with millions of people coming across our Border, totally unchecked and unvetted, many from prisons, mental institutions, and record numbers of terrorists. We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and X.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s first book is coming out July 9, and she assured the Michigan Advance that there will be no anecdotes about killing her dog, á là South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

“I’ve never executed an animal,” Whitmer said.

To wit, Whitmer’s dogs, Kevin and Doug, were present before and after a joint interview with Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist at the Michigan governor’s summer residence on Mackinac Island late last month.

And while she didn’t write about her experience on President Joe Biden’s vice president shortlist in 2020, the Democrat did share some details from what she called “a very intensive process in a very stressful period of being governor” during the first months of the COVID pandemic. She told the Advance why she asked to be withdrawn for consideration months before the Democratic National Convention, but Biden convinced her to stay in.

But as for any speculation that she might join the Biden administration if he wins reelection this fall, Whitmer shot that down.

“I’m going to stay in my position as governor until the end of my term,” she said.

During the wide-ranging interview, Whitmer and Gilchrist talked about negotiations on the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, including possible changes to her free community college and pre-K proposals, as well as long-delayed reforms to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The Advance also asked them about Biden trailing former President Donald Trump in most Michigan polls, if Biden is struggling more this election to win over African-American voters, if abortion is still a top issue with voters, if Michigan Democrats’ progressive agenda will hurt their chances of keeping the state House this fall and more.

The following are excerpts from that interview:

Michigan Advance: So why is former President Trump leading President Biden in most polls in Michigan right now?

Whitmer: Well, I think we’re going to see a very tight race all the way through November. And I’ve told a lot of folks, don’t clutch your pearls when you see us down two points and don’t celebrate when you see us up two points. It’s going to be within the margin the whole time. … I know, though, that our polls leading up to our reelection [in 2022] was a much closer race than ended up being [Whitmer won by 10.5 points].

I’m not suggesting that anyone should be taken for granted. Certainly, the Biden administration is very focused on Michigan and delivering on the things that will make people’s lives better. And they’ve done a lot of good work on this. And I know Michiganders care about fundamental rights. They care about job security … and supply chains, and the Biden administration’s got a superior record on all fronts. And so I think when voters start to get focused on this election, I do anticipate that the president’s got a winning agenda. He’s delivered and has got a vision as opposed to running on a campaign of grievance and retribution. People want leaders and that’s what President Biden is.

Michigan Advance: But between polling and punditry, there definitely seems to be an overall sense that Biden is not ahead, whereas it was the opposite in 2020, even in the midst of the pandemic and all of its impacts. What do you think the change has been? Why are people dissatisfied?

Whitmer: I think the cost of living is higher right now. And while we’re seeing inflation coming down and we’ve got historic employment numbers and a president who’s actually gotten more done for this country than many of his predecessors, people are still, I think, working really hard to keep their head above water. And I think that’s the stress that the average person’s feeling. And that comes out I think in anxiety about the state of things.

All that being said, when you actually take a look at the two choices, the two fundamental choices in front of us, there’s a very stark difference. One, the incumbent president who’s focused on making people’s lives better and another who’s focused on making his own life better.

Gilchrist: I think the president is going to continue to show how much his vision for the future has a place for everybody in Michigan. … When the vice president [Kamala Harris] was here, for example, a few Mondays ago, she had a very forceful economic vision that was focused on growth and inclusion, new business creation, particularly focused on not only the sectors that are important in Michigan, but to Black entrepreneurs. And I think that that’s a vision that again, is not about the past or retribution or revenge, but is about growth and opportunity showing people that they are part of a future.

Whereas I think former President Trump is solely focused on excluding people, is solely focused on finding new ways to articulate how people are not a part of his vision for the future. And ultimately, I think the people of Michigan will respond to that from the Biden-Harris campaign. And I think that’s why they’re going to win. To the governor’s point, it’s going to be close. That is what it is. But we will take our close victory. … They’re [Biden and Harris] the best partners for Michigan, having that alignment with our team here in Michigan has been transformational.

Michigan Advance: Is there a particular concern about Black male voters and younger Black voters moving away from the president?

Gilchrist: I think there’s an opportunity to continue to deepen that conversation. Black men are like any other group of voters, people; you want people to talk to you. You want people to talk to you all the time. And I think what we’ve seen with the continued, consistent and increased presence of the Biden-Harris administration — Michigan is one the states they’ve been to the most; the Detroit area is one of the places they’ve been to the most in the country. …

And again, what I said about the vice president came to Michigan to talk about — and Detroit specifically — is an emphasis on what Black men are excited about, which is: How do we create that pathway for entrepreneurship for us? And so I think the administration has good answers and they’re going to tell that story and tell it forcefully. And it is completely the opposite of what the Trump administration would be offering for a second term.

Michigan Advance: In the 2022 election, abortion was the top issue. Why is abortion not getting the same billing this election season?

Whitmer: I think it is. I think you’ll see that more and more that one of the things that I’ve been really trying to make sure that no one loses sight of is that while we made great strides here in Michigan enshrining abortion rights in our constitution and taking a lot of the TRAP laws off the books and other barriers, we know that this is all very precarious. Right now, you see what’s going on in Louisiana [which designated abortion pills as a controlled substance], you see what is pending in front of courts across the country, efforts to make it impossible for women to access mifepristone or just simply the abortion drug, which is the way that most women access abortion care in this country.

So if the United States Supreme Court renders a ruling that is brought from one state, it impacts all of us. If a second Trump presidency means more appointments to the Supreme Court, it means there’s a higher likelihood that we’ll see additional barriers [to reproductive rights]. And certainly Congress is Republican-controlled, we know that a national abortion ban is a very real possibility. So abortion rights are front and center, and I think every right that stems from a substantive due process — the marriage rights for a LGBTQ community — are all very much in flux still as a result of the Dobbs decision from the current Supreme Court.

Michigan Advance: Do you expect that the Trump administration would enforce the Comstock Act of 1873 to restrict abortion?

Whitmer: I think that they have told us that that’s precisely what they hope to do. You read the concurring opinions in Dobbs, and they’ve been very clear.

Michigan Advance: You had right-wing activists protest outside your house during your COVID orders. What do you think about pro-Palestinian activists protesting outside your house and the houses of University of Michigan regents?

Whitmer: I’ll say it’s very different being governor of the state. I have got state police that are part of the detail that keep me and my family safe. And even with everything over the last six years, I’ve never personally worried about my safety. [Ed. note: Whitmer was the subject of a 2020 right-wing kidnapping and assassination plot, for which there have been several convictions].

Being a public servant in another office, almost any other office, doesn’t have anything like the security that I have. And going to people’s homes in the middle of the night, I think it crosses a line. And I respect and applaud anyone who wants to voice their opinion on international policy, on domestic policy. But I think that making harassing or scaring public servants does cross a line.

Michigan Advance: So moving to state government, obviously Democrats have been able to get quite a lot done this past term with a really slim legislative majority. Are there any concerns that Democrats might be overreaching as Republicans work to present themselves this election as moderates trying to hold back activists?

Whitmer: Where are Republicans trying to present themselves as moderates? [Laughs]. I would just submit that what we’re seeing from leadership on the Republican side right now in Michigan is continuing to promote a very extreme agenda that comports with the top of their ticket, Donald Trump. And Michiganders want leaders who are going to do what they say they’re going to do.

And that’s precisely what this new majority in the Legislature’s done. We ran on leveling the playing field, delivering free breakfast and lunch with students, ensuring that we repealed the retirement tax and quintupling the Working Families Tax Credit. We put a billion dollars of tax relief for families and I’m proud of what we’ve done. I think it would be terrible if we were given this opportunity to lead and we didn’t deliver on the agenda we ran on. So we have; I’m proud of it. And with a slim majority, I think we’re going to have robust contests in the state going forward because we finally have fairly drawn districts. And the party that has been elected to the majority has a duty to live their values and deliver for the people that elected them.

Michigan Advance: Just a followup to that: You mentioned there are a number of kitchen-table issues, as people say, like free school lunches and bringing Obamacare into state law. Do you expect leadership on these issues and accomplishing these issues will be a boon to Democrats in the upcoming election this fall?

Whitmer: I think so. You look at the fact that we have two legislators [ former Reps. Lori Stone and Kevin Coleman] who ran for mayors [in November 2023]. They both got elected. And in both districts, they sent more Democrats back to the Capitol [in special elections in April]. Now these are more Democratic districts; I know that. But I think it, too, tells you that people recognize that this is an agenda that they were expecting to get done and these two candidates, who are now mayors, were elevated to office in their communities. And I think that that’s a very positive sign about what we’ve been doing here in this moment in Michigan.

Gilchrist: I think we’re showing people that Democratic governance is worth voting for and when certainly I spend time with families across the state of Michigan — and not just in what you may consider blue areas. I was in Ironwood talking about the importance of free breakfast and free lunch, and hearing from parents and grandparents saying how important that was. The $850 that they’re saving is real money. The time that they’re saving in the mornings is real time.

And these policies are making a difference. And I think families just want to see that kind of leadership continue. And certainly the Republicans are in the minority — that doesn’t mean they can’t participate in things that are good for Michiganders. They have actively chosen not to do that. And I think that shows you that they are focused on everything but the people that we are trying to serve. But we certainly welcome a chance for them to work with us to deliver the things that are important for our communities.

Michigan Advance: Governor, in 2011, I remember sitting in your Senate office when you had a table very similar to this one because you wanted to make sure that all 12 members of the caucus could sit there when you were in a super-minority. Can you just describe what a sea change it’s been for you to have these 18 months of a Democratic trifecta? And back then, when you were in the minority, did you ever dream that would happen?

Whitmer: No. [laughs] To answer your last question first, the system was so rigged against having free and fair and representative government, that … we were in a super-minority many times over the past 40 years. We’ve seen that, with fairly drawn districts, we’re now in a position where we have a slim majority and we can deliver.

And when the election results came in, going into the [2022] election I remember [Sens.] Curtis Hertel (D-East Lansing) and Jim Ananich (D-Flint) saying, ‘If you just win by 3 points, we could pick up the Senate.’ And every candidate thinks, I’ve got to win 50% plus one vote. That’s what I got to do. But when the election results came in and we won by almost 11 points and flipped the House and Senate … I really started thinking about all the things that I tried to get done for my 14 years in the Legislature that now I might be able to get done.

And one of the most, I think, powerful moments for me, personally, was obviously the LGBTQ Civil Rights Act. Signing the Elliott-Larsen bill with my daughter standing next to me was one of the most powerful moments. But I also say that sharing my story of being raped in college [as a senator in 2013] and being able to undo that. I knew that we were in for a long fight. I believed that the majority of people in our state believed in a woman’s right to have her reproductive freedom.

But to have that culminate 10 years later, where I’m the one that could repeal that bill [that barred insurers from covering abortion without a special rider], was really one of those moments that I’ll never forget.

Michigan Advance: So you have a book coming out. And after South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem faced backlash for her book, where she talks about shooting her dog and sundry goats, did you go back and review your book at all just to make sure if there was anything you should take out?

Whitmer: [Laughs]. You know what? I read my book many times, so I know what’s in it. My book is not a memoir. It is really an effort to try to put some light out into the world in what feels like a really heavy, dark time. The question I get more than any other as I travel Michigan, or even beyond our state lines, is: ‘How do you stay positive when so much ugliness has come my way?’ And so this is just my effort to try to share some lessons I’ve learned and give people a laugh or a little inspiration.

So No. 1, I’ve never executed an animal [laughs], but No. 2, there are no stories like that in my book. But obviously, the process is such that, if you’re putting your name on something, you better be able to back everything up in it. And so I take that seriously both as a mom, as a human being, as a governor and as a lawyer.

Michigan Advance: Going back to the State of the State address when I asked you: Is it true that you’re going to have a book coming out? And you played that question off quite well, saying, ‘Can’t believe everything you read on Page Six.’ I was wondering, given that you tricked me … kidding … if you have any tidbits from the book that you’d like to share that haven’t been made public yet.

Whitmer: There are some stories in the book that have not been made public that I think some people will be [like], ‘Oh, I’m a little surprised.’ But I don’t think there’s just anything that’s going to create a national firestorm.

Michigan Advance: How about when you were under consideration to be [Biden’s] vice president and you got flown out for an interview in 2020? How about a little something on that?

Whitmer: I don’t talk about that in the book at all but …

Michigan Advance: But you can talk about it.

Whitmer: It was a very intensive process in a very stressful period of being governor. And I think I have talked about this publicly, but I’m not sure. There was a point where I asked to be taken out of consideration, actually, and it was when the Midland flooding happened. I was feeling very overwhelmed that I needed to lead through a pandemic and then through this incredible challenge in going through that intensive process, too. I asked to be taken out and the president asked me to stay in. And after 24 hours, I agreed to stay in the process.

Michigan Advance: So that would’ve been May of 2020?

Whitmer: Yes. But I’ll be very clear. It was never something that I was auditioning for, as I was and continue to be very happy to be governor of Michigan. And I can tell you, my whole family was very relieved that he didn’t ask me to be his running mate.

Michigan Advance: Just to get a little more clarity there, so moving on to another election cycle, if Biden is reelected, would you consider joining his administration if he offered you a cabinet post?

Whitmer: I’m going to stay in my position as governor until the end of my term.

Michigan Advance [to Gilchrist]: Are you disappointed?

Gilchrist: No! [Whitmer laughs].

This has been awesome, though. … I think that we’ve been a team that’s more reflective and representative of Michigan than any administration’s ever offered. We’ve been able to build a team that’s been more reflective and representative of Michigan than any administration in the state’s history. And I think the results speak for themselves. The record investment in public education, the fact that we actually set a statewide housing plan and are ahead of schedule in achieving it. The way that we have been able to secure the kinds of investments in economic opportunity projects that position Michigan as a leader in some of the most important industries moving forward. That’s what this team has been able to deliver and it’s been great to be part of it. And I’m proud to finish this job with the governor.

Advance reporters Kyle Davidson and Anna Liz Nichols contributed to this story.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and X.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other elected officials expressed their sorrow over a mass shooting of nine people at a metro Detroit splash park on Saturday evening.

Police said that a man pulled up in a vehicle to the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad in Rochester Hills at 5 p.m. Saturday, and fired at least 28 shots, injuring nine people ranging in age from 4 to 78. The shooter, a 42-year-old white male, died by suicide after leaving the scene.

“I am heartbroken to learn about the shooting in Rochester Hills. We are monitoring the situation as updates continue to come in, and are in touch with local officials,” Whitmer said on social media on Saturday evening.

9 shot at metro Detroit splash pad, including 4- and 8-year-old siblings and their mom

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist added that he is “deeply saddened” over the shooting and their “administration will continue to receive updates and support local officials on the ground.”

U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby. Twp.) was at a press conference about the shooting with Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard and urged people to seek out mental health resources if they needed them.

“Under no circumstances is it normal for ice cream cones and flip flops to be strewn amongst blood and bullet casings,” James said.

Mental health services from Oakland Community Health Network will be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Rochester Hills Department of Public Services building, 511 E. Auburn Road, for victims, their families and individuals who were at the Brooklands Plaza Splash Pad at the time of the shooting Saturday. Oakland County officials said no appointment is necessary.

“A tragedy. My heart breaks and goes out to all those impacted. Grateful for Sheriff @MikeJBouchard and local law enforcement’s swift and ongoing response,” state Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland) wrote on X. “Rochester Hills and Oakland Co are resilient and we will all heal from this together.”

Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake), who’s running for U.S. Senate, said he and his wife, Kristi, are “heartbroken for all of the victims and their families in Rochester today. Grateful for a quick response from law enforcement. The violence in our communities must stop.”

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) said that “gun violence is a policy choice.

“A splash pad. These are kids, babies, and families. Nobody should have to fear a day out at the splash pad. We don’t have to live like this. Gun violence is a policy choice. My heart goes out to the families and friends tonight.”

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) called the shooting “incomprehensible” and “sick” and said she had spoken to law enforcement who had responded to both the 2021 Oxford High School and 2023 Michigan State University mass shootings.

“I started my day at a Silence the Violence gun safety event in Detroit & end it on the phone with the same officials who responded to the Oxford shooting & provided aid during the MSU shooting,” Slotkin wrote on X on Saturday. “Tonight they’re once again trying to help a community that will never be the same. It’s incomprehensible, and it’s sick. I represented Rochester and Rochester Hills for four years. It’s a vibrant and close-knit community, and I’m deeply in shock from the scenes of such senseless, useless violence.”

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) said she was “devastated” and “the families and impacted neighborhoods have my full support and dedication.”

Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown wrote on social media that her “heart goes out to the victims, their families and friends and the city of @RochesterHills. Sending strength.”

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and X.

For years, Michigan was a national laughingstock, as bad news stalked the state like the villain in a bad ‘80s horror film.

There was the one-state recession of the early aughts, thanks to the bruised auto industry that almost collapsed during the Great Recession that followed, and two partial state government shutdowns.

Then came Republicans shoving Right to Work through a decade ago in an attempt to reverse Michigan’s economic fortunes (but really to placate rich donors), despite the vocal protest of over 10,000 union members on the Capitol lawn that made international news.

And then there was the Flint water crisis, the crown jewel of GOP former Gov. Rick Snyder’s dismal, eight-year tenure, as the state’s effort to save a few bucks in a city the administration didn’t care about resulted in Flint residents, particularly children, paying the ultimate price with their health.

It’s easy to forget how exactly the bad old days felt in Michigan.

But today, Michigan is known as the anti-Florida (thanks to some savvy marketing from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer), a veritable liberaltopia in the Midwest, which is expected to play a vital role, yet again, in picking the president next year.

This year, Whitmer partnered with the first Democratic legislative majority in roughly 40 years to not only reverse longstanding right-wing policies, but to pass major legislation furthering progressive causes like abortion rights, climate change policy, LGBTQ+ equality, education funding, voting rights, gun reforms and labor rights. All this took place as unions are again on the march thanks to massive victories like the UAW’s “Stand Up Strike” against the domestic automakers headquartered in Michigan.

For too long, it was easy to feel helpless in Michigan.

Efforts to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination started and stalled. Anti-abortion lobbyists successfully kept chipping away at basic health care rights. And a devastating 2021 school shooting in Oxford resulted in thoughts and prayers, but little immediate legislative action.

Voters, who had enough of inaction, bucked history (and shocked the pundit class) last year by voting for total Democratic control of Michigan — even though it was a midterm election where President Joe Biden’s poll numbers weren’t exactly setting the world on fire.

As state Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) said during the March signing of landmark LGBTQ+ rights legislation, “This moment is so long overdue, and too many suffered on the journey to get here.

“But … turns out they were waiting for us. They were waiting for a Legislature with the courage to stand up to hate and stand up for equality. They were waiting for members of our own community to tell our story in the chambers of the State Capitol. And they were waiting for a governor like Gretchen Whitmer to sign [this bill].”

Michigan is proof that real progressive victories that change the lives of millions are possible in swing states, not just deep-blue California.

So can this success be duplicated?

Like almost anything in politics, the answer is: not exactly. A unique set of circumstances, laws and players made this possible in Michigan. But there are still crucial lessons for leaders and advocates across the country.

Michigan did have some structural advantages that others don’t that helped prime the state for progressive triumphs this year.

The Mitten State’s relatively straightforward process for ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments (which many states lack — and Michigan Republicans have unsuccessfully tried to clamp down on) laid the groundwork, with voters approving an independent redistricting process and voting rights amendments in 2018.

That helped even the playing field after decades of gerrymandering and recent Republican attempts to make it harder to vote. Fairer maps for the 2022 election and policies like same-day voter registration and no-reason absentee voting, definitely helped propel Democratic candidates to victory in key legislative seats last year.

Michigan also had the gift of an eye-popping $9.2 billion budget surplus at the beginning of the year, bolstered by an unexpectedly strong economy for which Biden has yet to get credit and the last GOP-controlled Legislature that sat on billions of federal COVID aid naively hoping that Republican Tudor Dixon would vanquish Whitmer in the election (she lost by 11 points).

After decades of penny-pinching, vast budget cuts and a couple of government shutdowns, Michigan finally had some cash to invest in funding schools, fighting climate change, implementing election reforms and instituting tax cuts for seniors and low-income people.

And as for the stereotype that Democrats can’t pull it together, especially when it counts (there’s a reason why #DemsinDisarray trends regularly), Michigan showed that it’s possible to band together on big, systemic change, despite intense lobbying from powerful business and gun rights interests.

Walking into the year, Michigan had the slimmest of Democratic majorities — 20-18 in the Senate and 56-54 in the House. The party hadn’t been in charge of the House since 2010 and the Senate since 1984, so there was a steep learning curve.

But House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) proved they were able to work with Whitmer to execute a progressive game plan with ruthless efficiency and relatively few hiccups, like scaling back the Reproductive Health Act and parts of the clean energy plan.

Trying to run a caucus with narrow majorities is often compared to herding cats, and with good reason. Both Brinks and Tate showed exceptional mettle in balancing the myriad needs of their members while ensuring that significant policy got done.

Having tested and reliable partners in the judicial and executive branches, like Attorney General Dana Nessel, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Democrats in charge of the Supreme Court, didn’t hurt, either.

But, hands down, the biggest boon to Michigan progress has been having Gretchen Whitmer at the helm.

Voters chose a governor in 2019 who came armed with the most experience since Republican John Engler was elected in 1990. In her more than 14 years in the Legislature, she endured it all in the minority as the state rotted under austerity. As a minority leader, she did thankless work behind the scenes on issues like Medicaid expansion, as Republicans weren’t eager to boost her stature by passing landmark legislation bearing her name.

That helped Whitmer contend with a Republican-controlled Legislature obsessed with curbing her power in her first term — both before and especially during the pandemic. Time and time again, pundits underestimated her as she held the line against budget cuts and attempts to kill public health measures, even while contending with a stream of sexist insults and even a 2020 assassination attempt.

And so, when Democrats defied the odds and ran the table in last year’s midterms, Whitmer was exceptionally ready to govern with the majority.

It’s become unfashionable to say that having experience and a moral compass counts in politics (or much of anything anymore), but one only needs to look at the devastation wrought by our last president, Donald Trump, who had zero government experience and appears to have been born without a conscience.

Whitmer was ready on Day 1 to finally deliver on Democratic priorities. Deftly drawing on institutional knowledge, her team had a clear plan of attack. The governor showed her methodical mastery of the legislative process that requires constantly balancing competing interests and resolving maddening intraparty conflicts.

Does it hurt that Whitmer’s name was on the vice president shortlist in 2020 and she’s widely considered to be a top 2028 presidential contender? Of course not.

All politicians are naturally ambitious (if they weren’t, they’d just be eating Cheetos while watching “90 Day Fiance” and grousing about politics on social media like the rest of us). If they harness that ambition to boost democracy, protect human rights, combat climate change and more, that’s the ultimate win-win.

So Whitmer has a pretty good legacy to run on if she chooses to launch a White House bid at some point — the flashy optics of her bill signings last month for reproductive rights and clean energy packages alone told a powerful story (and purposefully so).

Of course, nothing is guaranteed. And Michigan Democrats face their own uncertainty heading into next year, as two House members have resigned, leaving a temporary 54-54 deadlock that will cause any progress to come to a screeching halt.

Nobody ever said rebuilding a major state after decades of doom and gloom would be easy.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.