Whitmer endorses Harris for president, dismisses speculation about joining as running-mate

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer formally endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in an email blast and a social media post Monday and closed off the possibility of seeking the presidential nomination herself this year.

Whitmer’s name has bobbed about the nomination process following Biden’s stunning falters in the first presidential debate not quite a month ago. First as a wishful prospect, then a possibility as Biden’s withdrawal appeared more and more likely. Whitmer joined what seemed to be a short list for a convention nomination after Biden quit the race and endorsed Harris as his successor on the ticket.

Just before Harris gave her first public statement as the presumed nominee, Whitmer posted a video on the social media platform X.

“In Vice President Harris, Michigan voters have a presidential candidate we can count on to lower our costs, protect our freedoms, and build an economy that works for working people,” Whitmer said. “She’s a former prosecutor, a champion for reproductive freedom and I know she’s got Michigan’s back.”

Michigan is considered a critical swing state for either Harris or former President Donald Trump in November. Whitmer also said she will be a Harris national campaign co-chair, a position she also held with Biden.

Whitmer is now among a group including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Bashear and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona whose names come up as possible Harris running mates. Whitmer would be a historic choice, creating a major party ticket led by two women.

But Whitmer brushed off questions about the possibility of being Harris’s running mate. Following a Monday event in Lansing, she told reporters, “I’m not going anywhere.”