Gretchen Whitmer knocks down VP talk: ‘I’m not leaving Michigan’

• Asked if she’d consider running for president or vice president this year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she’s ‘not going anywhere’
• Whitmer had been floated as a possible presidential nominee but had said she would not seek to replace Biden
• Instead, Whitmer endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid to be the 2024 Democratic Party’s presidential nominee

LANSING — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday endorsed Kamala Harris for president and knocked down speculation she could seek the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nomination. 

“I’m not leaving Michigan,” Whitmer told reporters in Lansing.

“I'm proud to be the governor of Michigan. I've been consistent. I know everyone is always suspicious and asking this question over and over again. I know you're doing your job — I'm not going anywhere."

Whitmer spoke to the media at a separate event on Monday shortly after joining three other Midwest governors in backing Harris’ bid to be the 2024 Democratic Party’s nominee for president.

Related:

• Democratic voters backed Biden in Michigan primary. His exit is ‘really wild’
• Joe Biden wants to pass the baton to Kamala Harris. Here's how that might work
• Top Michigan Dems back Kamala Harris for president. Could Gretchen Whitmer be VP?

The endorsement came a day after President Joe Biden ended his campaign and most of Michigan’s Democratic congressional delegation backed Harris to replace him. 

Whitmer's lack of endorsement on Sunday had raised eyebrows. 

Asked about her timing, Whitmer said Monday that "everyone was surprised by the news yesterday, even though there was a lot of conversation about it.”

Even Biden campaign co-chairs like herself were surprised, Whitmer said. "I wanted a minute to check in with my colleagues and let the dust settle," she added. "I'm proud to be supporting the vice president for president."

Whitmer will also serve as a co-chair of Harris’ campaign, she announced later Monday in a video posted to social media.

In a morning endorsement statement, the second-term governor said she was “fired up” to back Harris. 

“In Vice President Harris, Michigan voters have a presidential candidate they can count on to focus on lowering their costs, restoring their freedoms, bringing jobs and supply chains back home from overseas and building an economy that works for working people,” Whitmer said in a statement. 

“She’s a former prosecutor, a champion for reproductive freedom, and I know that she’s got Michigan’s back.”

Biden announced Sunday he was ending his 2024 presidential campaign and endorsing Harris to take his spot atop the ticket, an historic move that immediately redefined the race against Republican nominee Donald Trump. 

Most of Michigan’s Democratic congressional delegation on Sunday quickly backed Harris too. Only U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit has instead endorsed an open race at the party's August nominating convention, which begins Aug. 19 in Chicago. 

Whitmer’s name has been floated as a possible feature on a Democratic presidential ticket, with Biden himself at one point considering her as a potential running mate in 2020. Speculation of higher aspirations for Whitmer only grew after Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate against Trump.

Whitmer, experts said, could help Harris in Midwest swing states, including Michigan, which is a focus of both major party presidential campaigns. Harris campaigned in Kalamazoo last week, while Trump and running mate JD Vance held a Saturday rally in Grand Rapids. 

Despite Whitmer's attempt to distance herself from the vice presidential speculation, Ken Thomas of the Wall Street Journal reported later Monday that Harris' campaign had requested vetting materials from Whitmer and several other potential running mates. 

Several other Democratic governors have been floated as potential Harris running mates, including Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gavin Newsom of California, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Roy Cooper of North Carolina. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who lives in northern Michigan, has also been mentioned as a possible Harris pick. 

Whitmer previously said she would not seek to replace Biden on the ticket should he drop out and has maintained that she would like to remain governor for the rest of her term, which runs through the end of 2026. 

Shortly after Biden’s Sunday announcement, Whitmer said in a statement her job in this fall’s 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.”

Most of Michigan’s Democratic congressional delegation on Sunday quickly backed Harris for president following the lead of Biden, who said she has his “full support and endorsement … to be the nominee of our party this year.”

Harris is an “extraordinary leader,” U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow said in a Sunday statement. “She has the knowledge, experience and commitment to be an outstanding President for Michigan and the country.”

Democratic delegates will formally pick their presidential nominee at a convention slated to start Aug. 19 in Chicago. Experts say Biden’s endorsement of Harris, her position and recent track record of campaigning in swing states on issues like abortion rights make her the clear frontrunner.