Mich. governor to deliver rebuttal
Democrats chose Whitmer, the leader of a Midwestern swing state, to rebut Trump’s State of the Union.
LANSING, Mich. — Democrats are putting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan on the national stage Tuesday to rebut President Donald Trump, elevating a fresh face and casting an election-year spotlight on a swing state in the Midwest as the party looks to win back states Trump narrowly captured.
The 48-year-old’s ascendance comes as Democrats hope to solidify gains with female voters and as two men in their late 70s, former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, lead national primary polls. Her selection has led to increased speculation that she could be a running mate pick, though she said she is not interested.
Whitmer, who rarely mentions Trump, has advised Democratic presidential candidates that Michigan voters are less focused on his Twitter feed than on the “fundamentals” such as fixing deteriorating roads and helping train people for better-paying jobs.
She will return to that theme in her 10-minute response to Trump’s State of the Union address, which she will deliver at East Lansing High School — where her two daughters are enrolled.
“These are the fundamentals that people in America are concerned about,” Whitmer told The Associated Press, adding that House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi “thought I would have a message that would resonate.”
Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod, a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, said “it’s hard to imagine a better person” to counter Trump.
“Not only did she win the governorship by a wide margin in a key battleground state we lost in 2016 and need to win in 2020, but she is a strong moderate female voice — the perfect contrast to President Trump,” she said.