Whitmer was born and raised inMichigan. She graduated fromMichigan State University with a bachelor's degree in communication in 1993 and aJuris Doctor degree in 1998. Her political career began in 2000 when she was elected to theMichigan House of Representatives. In 2006, she won aspecial election to the state senate, serving in that chamber until 2015, and became its first female Democratic leader from 2011 to 2015. In 2013, Whitmer gained national attention for a floor speech during a debate onabortion in which she shared her experience of beingsexually assaulted. For six months in 2016, she was the prosecutor forIngham County. Whitmer was elected governorin 2018, defeatingRepublican nomineeBill Schuette, the state attorney general.
Whitmer's parents divorced when she was ten years old, after which she and her siblings moved with their mother toGrand Rapids; her father traveled from his home inDetroit to visit the family at least once a week.[7] She attended a Christiansummer camp inWest Virginia for several summers; during one such summer, she was injured during a game oftag, losing both of her front teeth. From 1985 to 1989, she attendedForest Hills Central High School near Grand Rapids, participating in the school'ssoftball andtrack and field teams.[7][8] During her time at Forest Hills, Whitmer became intoxicated before a football game, leading her to briefly pass out and vomit on the school principal, Bert Bleke. Whitmer said that she "got it together" after that incident and was eventually awarded most improved student of 1987 at her school.[9]
In 2000, Whitmer ran for theMichigan House of Representatives'70th district to succeed representativeLaura Baird. After winning the Democratic primary against Mary Lindemann, John Schlinker, and Bob McCann, she ran againstRepublican nominee Bill Hollister. She campaigned on education and healthcare reform and environmental protections.[12][13] Whitmer won the election, receiving 17,409 total votes.[14] She was reelected to the69th House district in 2002 and 2004 and served as vice chair of the Michigan House Appropriations Committee.[15][16][17]
In 2003, Whitmer introduced a bill in the Michigan House that would raise taxes on alcohol and improve fire protection in the state, a proposition that earned the attention and support of then-governorJennifer Granholm.[18] In 2005, Whitmer was voted Most Effective Democrat of the Michigan House.[19]
Senate
In March 2006, Whitmer won aspecial election to theMichigan State Senate, replacingVirg Bernero, who had been electedmayor of Lansing in November 2005.[20] She was elected to a full term in November, and reelected in 2010. In 2011, Whitmer's Democratic colleagues unanimously chose her to be the Senate Democratic Leader, making her the first woman to lead a party caucus in the Senate.[6] Due toterm limits, Whitmer was unable to run for reelection in 2014 and left office in 2015.[21]
In 2013, Whitmer received national recognition when she revealed that she had been the victim ofrape during her freshman year atMichigan State University.[22] She told her story during a debate aboutabortion rights, while making the case that victims of rape should be allowed to terminate pregnancies that result from the assault.[23]
Ingham County prosecutor
On May 11, 2016, it was announced that the judges of Michigan's 30th Judicial Circuit Court had unanimously selected Whitmer to serve the remaining six months of outgoing Ingham County ProsecutorStuart Dunnings III's term.[24] Dunnings resigned, effective July 2, 2016, after being charged with misconduct in office and with prostitution-related offenses;[25][26] he subsequently pleaded guilty to several counts and was sentenced to one year in jail and two years' probation.[27]
On June 21, 2016, Whitmer was administered the oath of office as prosecutor by Ingham County Circuit Court Chief Judge Janelle Lawless. She said her top priorities during her six months of service would be to determine if any other officials in the prosecutor's office knew about Dunnings's alleged crimes and to change how the office handled domestic violence and sexual assault cases.[28]
In July 2016, Whitmer issued an 11-page report on whether Dunnings's offenses had affected cases the office handled. The report concluded that employees "were never asked to compromise a case or look the other way" and that she had "full confidence that any problem that had existed in this office left with Mr. Dunnings".[29][30] Whitmer's term expired on December 31, 2016.
Whitmer, withAdjutant GeneralPaul D. Rogers, arriving at the Capitol dais for her inauguration ceremony as new governor, January 2019
On January 3, 2017, Whitmer announced she would run in the 2018 Michigan gubernatorial race.[31] In the August 2018 primary, Whitmer became theDemocratic nominee, winning 52% of the vote and defeatingAbdul El-Sayed, who took 30%, andShri Thanedar, who took 17%.[32][33]
While campaigning in 2018, Whitmer said that, if elected, she would focus on improving Michigan's "fundamentals"; she named schools, roads, and water systems as priorities.[34] Whitmer's main opponent was RepublicanBill Schuette, the term-limitedattorney general of Michigan. The two candidates debated twice.[35]
Whitmer defeated Schuette in the November 6 election by nearly a 10-point margin.[36]
Whitmer was reelected to a second term in 2022, defeating Republican nomineeTudor Dixon.[37] She won by nearly 11 points, a larger margin than many analysts and election watchers predicted, with polling showing a tightening race in the weeks before election day in what was expected to be a tough midterm election for Democrats in battleground states like Michigan.[38] Whitmer won 18 counties and expanded her margins in several vote-rich, bellwether areas of the state, including Oakland, Macomb, and Kent Counties.[39]
Tenure
Whitmer, February 2023
Whitmer describes herself as aprogressive Democrat, who can work with state legislators from different political perspectives.[40]
As both a gubernatorial candidate and as governor, one of Whitmer's key pledges was to "fix the damn roads", a reference to Michigan's struggling infrastructure.[41] Her initial post-election plan to fund road repairs with a 45-cent-per-US-gallon (12 ¢/L) gas tax increase was deeply unpopular, with one poll finding it opposed by 75% of Michigan voters, including majorities of Democrats andindependent voters.[42] Democratic legislators in Michigan's Republican-controlled legislature largely declined to support the plan, which would have nearly tripled Michigan's gas tax and potentially made it the highest in the nation.[43][44]
Whitmer's first budget earmarked several billions of dollars for investment in infrastructure.[45][46][47] In 2019, she struggled with the Republican-controlled legislature to pass a budget and made several concessions.[45]
The gubernatorial election and national conversation during Whitmer's time in office focused largely on healthcare. During the election, she was the only Democratic candidate not to support asingle-payer healthcare system.[48] As governor, she has focused on women's healthcare andMedicaid expansion.[45]
In May 2020, theEdenville Dam gave way after awaiting an overdue report on its safety standards. Whitmer directed theMichigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to form an investigation that "state Republicans, flooding victim advocates and dam safety experts" criticized, concerned that the state's environmental agency would essentially be investigating itself.[49] Guidelines from the Association of State Dam Safety Officials advocate independent investigators. An inquiry launched by theUnited States House of Representatives later gave the EGLE andFERC a two-week deadline for answers.[50]
In March 2020, at the outset of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Whitmer issued astay-at-home order.[52][53] She extended Michigan's stay-at-home order several times before lifting it on June 1, 2020, when she moved the state to "phase four" of her reopening plan.[53] In April 2020, right-wing groups such as the Michigan Conservative Coalition and Michigan Freedom Fund organized an eight-hourprotest against the restrictions.[54][55][56][57] Between 3,000 and 4,000 protesters gathered at theMichigan State Capitol.[58][59][60]New York Times columnist Charlie Warzel called the protest "twisted, paranoid and racialized", pushed by conspiracy theorists such asAlex Jones.[61] Polling in March and April 2020 found that the majority of Michiganders approved of Whitmer's actions to combat the pandemic.[62][63][64][65][66] At the time of the protest, more than 1,900 people in Michigan had died after contracting the virus.[54]
In April 2020, a Michigan judge rejected a legal challenge to Whitmer's stay-at-home order, holding that the state had the power to protect the public health against "a highly communicable and deadly virus" and that the order did not infringe upon constitutional rights.[67]
After the stay-at-home order was lifted on June 1, 2020,[53] certain other COVID-19-related measures, such as capacity limits, remained in place, until Whitmer lifted all restrictions on June 22, 2021, citing a reduction in COVID-19 cases and the availability of safe and effectiveCOVID-19 vaccines.[68]
In May 2021, Whitmer apologized after being photographed with a large group of unmasked people, with no social distancing, at a restaurant in East Lansing.[69][70][71] The restaurant was violating state-mandated social distancing guidelines that restricted indoor dining to six people per table.[72]
Whitmer's COVID-19-related orders in the early days of the pandemic, from March through September 2020, were issued under the 1945 Emergency Powers of Governor Act.[73] Republicans criticized her use of the law, and the legislature passed legislation to repeal it; she vetoed the repeal in December 2020.[73] The law thus remained on the books, but was unenforceable due to an October 2020 decision by theMichigan Supreme Court, which ruled 4–3 that the 1945 act was unconstitutional because it allowed "the governor to declare emergencies and keep them in place without legislative input" and unanimously ruled that the 1976 Emergency Management Act "did not give Whitmer the power, after April 30, to issue or renew any executive orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic after 28 days without Legislative approval".[74] On the same day, a group called "Unlock Michigan" turned in 460,000 valid citizen signatures to the Michigan Secretary of State's Office, seeking to trigger aninitiative to repeal the 1945 act.[73][75] In July 2021, the legislature voted to approve the citizen initiative.[73] Under state law, Whitmer could not veto this step, and the repeal took effect.[73]
In 2020, amid her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as after tweets in which Trump attacked her and dismissed her as "the woman in Michigan", Whitmer changed the wording to the more specific "that woman in Michigan" in speeches and on T-shirts, gaining a greater national profile as Trump's original wording was forgotten.[79][80][81]Cecily Strong portrayed Whitmer onSaturday Night Live episodes in May 2020[82] and February 2021.[83]
Whitmer was vetted by Biden's team as a potential running mate during the2020 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection; Biden confirmed she was on his shortlist in March.[84] Michigan's status as a key swing state was seen as boosting her prospects of being selected.[85]The New York Times reported that she was one of four finalists for the position along withKamala Harris,Susan Rice, andElizabeth Warren;[86] Harris was selected.[87] According to some reports, Whitmer removed herself from consideration, urging Biden to choose a Black woman instead.[88] Whitmer's consideration for the position further elevated her national stature.[84]
Whitmer co-chaired Biden'sinaugural committee,[90] and in early January 2021, then-President-elect Biden nominated her as a vice chair candidate for theDemocratic National Committee;[91] the committee elected Whitmer and the rest of the slate of candidates on January 20 unopposed.[92][93]
After her 2022 reelection, Whitmer was considered a possible presidential candidate in the event that Biden did not run for a second term in 2024.[94][95] Writing forThe Bulwark,A. B. Stoddard expressed support for a Whitmer presidential bid in 2024 with SenatorRaphael Warnock as her running mate.[96] In response to these speculations, Whitmer affirmed repeatedly that she would not run for president, intending to serve a full second term as governor.[97][98] On April 25, 2023, Whitmer was named co-chair of Biden'sreelection campaign.[90] On June 12, she launched the Fight Like Hell PAC in an effort to boost Democrats running for federal office in 2024.[99] In December, the PAC endorsed its first slate of candidates, causing further speculation about a presidential bid.[100] In 2023, Whitmer declined to speak directly withRepresentativeDean Phillips regarding his effort to try to convince her to enter theDemocratic Party presidential primary race to oppose Biden.[101][102] In a speech in Washington D.C. in March 2024, Whitmer hinted at running for president in 2028, saying, "See you in 2029."[103] After Bidenwithdrew his candidacy in July 2024, she announced that she would not seek the Democratic nomination, and endorsed Vice PresidentKamala Harris'spresidential campaign.[104][105] She also said she would not accept an offer to be Harris's running mate.[106]
On October 8, 2020, a federal indictment against six men associated with the Wolverine Watchmen, a Michigan-basedmilitia group, was unsealed. The indictment charges the men with plotting to kidnap Whitmer and violently overthrow Michigan's government.[107] The FBI became aware of the scheme in early 2020 after communications among thefar-right group were discovered, and via an undercover agent who met with more than a dozen individuals at a meeting in Dublin, Ohio.[1] Another seven men were charged with state crimes in relation to the plot.[108]Facebook is cooperating with the investigation, since the federal criminal complaint detailed how the group used a private Facebook group to discuss the alleged plot.[109]
In the wake of the unsealed indictment, Whitmer, in a livestream, thanked the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation. She called the plotters "sick and depraved men" and blamed Trump for refusing to explicitly condemn far-right groups and for his handling of theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[110][111] In April 2022, two men (Harris and Caserta) were acquitted on all charges on grounds ofentrapment by federal authorities.[112] In August 2022, two others (Fox and Barry Croft Jr.) were convicted of conspiracy to kidnap. In October 2022, three others (Morrison, Musico, and Bellar) were convicted of providing material support for a terrorist act. Additionally, Garbin and Franks pleaded guilty.[113]
Policies and political positions
Whitmer describes herself as aprogressive Democrat[40] who can work with legislators with different political perspectives.[40]
In September 2021, Whitmer began working with the state legislature to repeal a 90-year-old law that banned abortion in Michigan, so as to preserve abortion rights in the state in caseRoe v. Wade was overturned.[115][116] After the Supreme CourtoverturnedRoe v. Wade in 2022, it was unclear whether Michigan's 1931 statute criminalizing abortion procedures and drugs was operative.[117] In April 2023, Whitmer signed a bill repealing the 1931 ban, ensuring abortion access in Michigan.[117]
Whitmer strongly supported2022 Michigan Proposal 3, a ballot proposal that amended theMichigan Constitution to include the right toreproductive freedom, which the measure defined as "the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management and infertility care."[115][117] The proposal was approved by a wide margin in the 2022 election. Abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy in Michigan.[117]
Corporate incentives
Whitmer is in favor of using corporate incentives to attract business and manufacturing to Michigan. On December 20, 2021, she signed House Bill 4603, a bipartisan measure that created a $1 billion economic development fund to attract manufacturers to Michigan.[118][119]
Whitmer strongly supports the proposed industrial "megasite" inMarshall, Michigan, where a majorelectric vehicle battery manufacturing facility is planned, and approved of $1.8 billion in state incentives for the purchase and preparation of the site.[120][121]
In 2018, as a candidate for governor, Whitmer spoke atHash Bash to endorseProposal 1 to legalize recreationalcannabis in Michigan.[122] She said she had supported legalizing cannabis "before it was politically fashionable" and pledged to legalize and regulate it to increase revenue for road repairs and prevent children from accessing it.[123][124] In 2019, as governor, she reappeared at Hash Bash via video message to celebrate the legalization of recreational cannabis in Michigan, saying, "We worked hard, we got it done."[125][126]
Education
Whitmer has said she would like to phase in full-day universalpre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds in Michigan. She eliminated Michigan's third-grade "read-or-flunk" policy, which she says penalizes students the education system has failed; she wants to work to improve their reading skills. She proposes that all high school students be offered two years of debt-free higher education, either college or post-secondary training for skilled trades.[127]
Whitmer established the Michigan Reconnect program passed with bipartisan support in 2019 after first proposing the program in her State of the State speech as part of her "60 by 30" goal to address workforce talent shortages: having 60% of working-age adults in Michigan with a skill certificate or college degree by 2030.[128] The program allows any Michigander 25 or older without a college degree to enroll tuition-free in an associate degree or professional skills certificate program.[129] In her 2023 State of the State Address, Whitmer called for expanding the program by lowering the minimum age to 21. As of 2023, over 113,000 people had been accepted into the program.[130]
In 2020, Whitmer launched the Futures for Frontliners program, providing tuition-free access to an associate degree or professional certification program for Michiganders who served as essential workers during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.[131] By 2021, more than 120,000 people had applied for the first-of-its-kind program.[132]
Whitmer signed bipartisan legislation in 2022 establishing the Michigan Achievement Scholarship and providing $560 million to fund it. The "sweeping college scholarship program" is the state's largest effort to date to expand affordable access to college education,[133][134] estimated to provide scholarships for 94% of students at community college, 76% of students at public universities, and 79% of students at private universities and colleges.[135]
Environment
Whitmer has ordered the closure of major oil pipelines in Michigan and supportsrenewable energy initiatives. She has been endorsed by theSierra Club's Michigan Chapter.[136]
Whitmer discusses Operation Safe Communities a program to remove illegal guns from neighborhoods, May 2023.[138]
In January 2021, Whitmer called for a ban on all weapons inside the Michigan State Capitol in response to armed protestors in April 2020.[139] In her seven "concrete steps" to deter school shooting, she has called for bans onbump stocks and increasing resources for school resource officers.[140][141] In 2019, Whitmer joined 11 other governors in calling for "common sense gun legislation".[142] In 2012, she wrote anopen letter toNational Rifle Association PresidentWayne LaPierre onHuffPost about actions to prevent further school violence like theSandy Hook Elementary School shooting.[143]
After Democrats won a majority in the state legislature in 2023, they passed a package of gun violence prevention legislation. Whitmer strongly supported the six bills, which were passed in the aftermath of the 2021Oxford High School shooting and2023 Michigan State University shooting, and she signed the package into law in April 2023.[144] The Michigan package included auniversal background checks law, asafe storage law, a law exempting of firearm safety devices from state sales tax and use tax, and a law containing new licensure requirements for gun owners.[144] In May 2023, Whitmer also signed ared flag law; that law took effect in February 2024.[145][146]
Health care
Whitmer has said she would fight Republican efforts to take away protections for patients with preexisting conditions. In the State Senate, she successfully worked toexpand Medicaid coverage in the state under theAffordable Care Act. She spoke against single-payer healthcare as unrealistic on a state level in 2018 but also said she supports and thinks there is a good opportunity to enact federal-levelMedicare for All.[147] She also said she would work to lower the cost of prescription drugs and would get rid of Schuette's drug immunity law, which she believes protects drug companies from legal trouble if their drugs harm or kill people.[148]
During her first term as governor, Whitmer expanded health care coverage to more than one million Michiganders under the state's Medicaid expansion program, Healthy Michigan. She played a key role in passing Michigan's Medicaid expansion in 2013 as Senate minority leader, delivering Democratic votes needed to pass it.[149] Also during her first term, Whitmer established the Healthy Moms Healthy Babies program to help reduce infant mortality rates in low-income populations and address racial disparities in care provided for mothers and infants,[150] and secured an expansion of postpartum Medicaid coverage providing up to 35,000 mothers with health services for a year postpartum to help reduce pregnancy-related deaths.[151]
Whitmer signed a bipartisan bill into law in 2020 to endsurprise medical billing in Michigan by requiring providers to negotiate bills for out-of-network emergency services with a patient's insurance company instead of the patient.[152] In 2022, she signed a bipartisan package of bills into law to reduceprescription drug prices by requiring pharmacists to disclose prices of cheapergeneric drugs to patients and by requiringpharmacy benefit managers to be licensed and file drug-price transparency reports.[153][154]
In 2021, Whitmer declared that Michigan was ready to acceptAfghan refugee families fleeing the country amid theTaliban takeover following theU.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. She praised Michigan's "rich history ofmulticulturalism" and said the state was prepared "to help ensure those who arrive in Michigan can get their feet on the ground".[157]
In 2019, Whitmer canceled the sale of a former state prison over the purchasing company's plans to operate the facility as an immigrant detention center. A spokesperson said she canceled the sale because the purchasing company could not guarantee that the facility would not be used to house members of families separated under theTrump administration family separation policy.[158]
Whitmer disapproved of Trump's plan to excludeillegal immigrants from the2020 United States census.[159] In 2019, she told immigration rights groups that she supported plans to give undocumented immigrants driver's licenses or a form of government ID.[160]
Infrastructure
Whitmer speaking on federal infrastructure investment for Michigan in Bay City, November 2022
After running on the slogan "fix the damn roads" during her campaign, Whitmer secured historic funding for Michigan roads and bridges as governor. During her first term, over 16,000 lane miles of roads and 1,200 bridges were repaired across the state.[161] In 2020, Whitmer announced the Rebuilding Michigan program, providing $3.5 billion in state funding for over 120 road projects for the next five years, with a focus on major roads with the greatest economic impact and traffic volume.[162] In 2022, Whitmer signed a bipartisan $5 billion infrastructure deal that included over $400 million for state and local roads and bridges,[163] and an executive order to streamline road repairs directing agencies to speed up permitting for infrastructure projects.[164] Also in 2022, she announced the creation of the Michigan Infrastructure Office to coordinate between agencies and spend infrastructure funding more effectively.[165]
The Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council's 2022 report found that Michigan's roads were "in their best shape in years", with the proportion of roads rated "good" and "fair" increasing while those in "poor" condition decreased.[166] The council's 2023 report found that "slightly fewer roads were in good condition and slightly more were deemed poor" but said it was a good sign that roads had not deteriorated substantially from the gains in the previous year.[167]
Whitmer has invested over $2 billion in water infrastructure improvements since taking office. She secured $1.7 billion in water infrastructure investments as part of a nearly $5 billion bipartisan infrastructure deal signed into law in 2022.[163] The package included major funding for local governments to upgrade their drinking water systems, hundreds of millions to replace an estimated 20,000 lead service lines across the state, and millions more to address other drinking water contaminants.[168] Whitmer created the office of the Clean Water Public Advocate in 2019[169] and has enforced Michigan's recently updated lead and copper drinking water rule, which has the nation's strictest standards for drinking water contamination.[170]
As governor, Whitmer has signed several major tax cuts into law. In 2021, she signed bipartisan legislation to exempt all feminine hygiene products from state sales tax, saving consumers an estimated $7 million in taxes.[175] Whitmer signed two bipartisan tax cuts for small businesses into law in 2021; legislation she signed in October 2021 expanded property tax exemptions, providing $75 million in savings for small businesses[176][177] and bipartisan legislation she signed in December 2021 creating aSALT tax cap workaround for small businesses that providing a total of $200 million in tax savings.[178] In 2023, she signed a bipartisan $1 billion package of tax cuts into law. The legislation repealed the retirement tax, quintupled the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit, and allocated up to $500 million per year of corporate taxes towards the state's fund for business incentives.[179] In 2022, Michigan had the fifth-lowest state and local tax burden in the nation and the lowest in the Midwest, according to the nonpartisanTax Foundation.[180]
Whitmer grew Michigan's rainy-day fund to an all-time high of $1.6 billion in 2022 thanks to a $500 million deposit made in 2021 and an additional $180 million deposit in 2022 as part of bipartisan spending agreements.[181] Under Whitmer, Michigan paid down nearly $14 billion in state debt[182] and went from a projected $3 billion deficit to a $9 billion surplus.[183] Michigan became a "standout for investors" under Whitmer with bond returns outperforming neighboring states.[184] In 2021,S&P andFitch both announced rating outlook upgrades for Michigan, citing the state's responsible fiscal management and economic success emerging from the pandemic.[185] In 2022, Fitch upgraded Michigan's credit rating from AA to AA+, citing the state's strong fiscal position and economic growth.[186]
Voting rights and election security
Whitmer signs voter rights protection bill, November 2023.
Whitmer supports labor unions. In March 2023, she signed the repeal of the state's 2012 "right-to-work law"; Michigan was the first state in 58 years to repeal such a law. Whitmer also signed legislation reinstating aprevailing wage law, which mandates that contractors hired for projects with the state pay union-level wages.[190]
Personal life
In 2001, the year after she was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives, Whitmer married Gary Shrewsbury, a photographer.[191] She gave birth to the couple's first child in 2002, shortly before her mother died ofglioblastoma at the age of 59.[192] She later said: "They say that the five most stressful life events are getting married, having a child, the death of a loved one, moving your house, and starting a new job. And I did all of those things in that same two-year period."[192] Whitmer and Shrewsbury have two daughters together, born 19 months apart.[22] Although they divorced in 2008,[192] they remain close, and Shrewsbury worked as a photographer on Whitmer's 2018 gubernatorial campaign.[22] Their daughters both graduated fromEast Lansing High School and theUniversity of Michigan. Their eldest daughter is openly gay.[22][79]
Whitmer is known by the nickname "Big Gretch", coined by rapperSada Baby.[201] In May 2020, Detroit-based comedy rapperGmac Cash released "Big Gretch", a song praising Whitmer and the COVID-19 lockdown.[a] The song went viral onYouTube. The rapper said Whitmer deservedCartier buffalo horn sunglasses, or "buffs", a symbol of respect in Detroit.[203][204] Whitmer responded in atweet, "Love the nickname. Love the song."[205] She toldWNEM-TV in 2023, "Big Gretch is kind of a persona that came out of the pandemic. It was an acknowledgment that has gone through some tough stuff, and this was a nickname that came about because people wanted to give me a little encouragement. And so it was never a nickname I thought about or would have picked, but it's one that I really appreciate. And I think it's there. It's funny, too."[206] She addressed the nickname at the2024 Democratic National Convention, saying, "In Lansing, they call me governor, but in Detroit, I’m 'Big Gretch!'"[202]
In late March 2020, Whitmer gained national attention when President Donald Trump was reported to have told Vice PresidentMike Pence, "don't call the woman in Michigan", ostensibly in response to Whitmer's earlier criticisms of the Trump administration's initial response to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[207][208] Whitmer responded by embracing that description of herself, including wearing a "That Woman from Michigan" T-shirt on an April 1Daily Show interview withTrevor Noah.[209][210] At the 2024 DNC, she said, "Being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honor."[211] Whitmer is popular on social media, with hundreds of thousands ofInstagram followers and 4 millionTikTok likes as of 2023[update].[206] She is known for wearing deep magenta lipstick, which a Detroit makeup store, The Lip Bar, released as a product called "Big Gretch".[202]
Publications
Articles
"I'm a Pro-Choice Governor, and I'm Not Going to Sit on My Hands Waiting for Congress",The New York Times, May 9, 2022[212]
Books
True Gretch: What I've Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between,Simon & Schuster, July 9, 2024 (ISBN 978-1-6680-7231-8).[213]
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