Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer pushed back on Monday against a report that said the governor relayed that Michigan was no longer winnable for Biden after his poor debate performance against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
POLITICO published a report on Monday morning about Whitmer’s attempts to dispel any rumors that she is looking to replace Biden as the Democratic candidate for the 2024 election. According to POLITICO senior political columnist Jonathan Martin, however, a source close to one of Whitmer’s potential 2028 Democratic rivals said that Whitmer had called Biden campaign chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon to tell her that Michigan was unwinnable for the president after the debate.
An unnamed Whitmer aide quickly denied the report, telling The Detroit News the POLITICO source’s claim was false. Whitmer added in a statement, “I am proud to support Joe Biden as our nominee and I am behind him 100% in the fight to defeat Donald Trump. Not only do I believe Joe can win Michigan, I know he can because he’s got the receipts: he’s lowered health care costs, brought back manufacturing jobs and is committed to restoring the reproductive freedom women lost under Donald Trump.”
The Michigan governor also wrote in a post on X, “Anyone who claims I would say that we can’t win Michigan is full of s***. Let’s go.”
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), who said she spoke to the governor about her call with Dillon, defended Whitmer, saying, “She’s out there doing everything she can. She’s working her a– off.” Dingell then slammed Whitmer’s potential political rival, who she accused of attempting to spin the governor’s conversation with Dillon in an attempt to “knife” her, The Detroit News reported.
“Women don’t like people that go after each other,” Dingell said.
Whitmer has been floated as a potential presidential candidate for the Democratic Party in 2028, and more recently, some have posited that Whitmer could be tapped if Biden were to drop out of the 2024 race. Speculation about Biden being replaced on the 2024 ticket ramped up over the weekend after Biden put on a shaky debate performance on Thursday night.
Following the debate, 72% of registered voters said Biden does not have the mental and cognitive health to serve as president, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll. That number was up from 65% in a poll taken before the debate in early June.
Michigan is a vital battleground state that has gone back and forth in the past two elections with Trump winning the state in 2016 and Biden taking Michigan in 2020. Trump currently holds a small polling advantage in Michigan, leading the president by 1.2 points, according to the RealClearPolitcs polling average as of Monday afternoon.