‘Not writing off a community because it looks red’: Why Gretchen Whitmer came to FL
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says there’s a reason she’s stopping in Florida as she travels the country ramping up Democratic messaging ahead of the midterm elections: She flipped the governor’s mansion in Michigan, in part, by spending time in Republican areas.
“There are areas in my state that are very red on a political map that many Democrats wouldn’t bother showing up at. I do,” Whitmer said in an interview Monday with the Miami Herald.
Speaking later during a roundtable discussion with Miami union and labor leaders, she also attributed her success to “not writing off a community because it looks red on a political map, but actually getting in there, engaging with people to make sure we stay focused on the things that matter.” She added, “If I can undo it fast, it can be done again quickly, so we can’t let up for a second. That’s why I’m here to do more listening than talking.”
Whitmer, briefly considered as a Joe Biden running mate in 2020, has taken a prominent messaging role as Democrats try to find their voice in Donald Trump’s second term. She focused on making economic issues a centerpoint in the midterms — including in Florida.
“Right here in Miami-Dade, you’ve got the largest number of people that are going to be impacted [by healthcare cuts] in the country in this area. We know that the ability to find affordable housing is not just a need in Michigan, it’s a need right here with some of the highest housing costs in the country” Whitmer told the Herald. “These are fundamentals that keep people from being able to get ahead.”
As she listened to Florida union leaders Monday, they laid out a slew of reasons some of their members aren’t voting for Democrats: from not having a clear economic message, to not being outspoken against dictatorial regimes elsewhere in the world, to ignoring key constituencies until days before an election.
“We don’t speak up,” Democratic Executive Committeewoman Sardeborah Wright told Whitmer. “Instead of countering the lies that the Republican Party disseminates, we sit there and try to be politically correct, we just clutch our pearls and that’s it.”
Whitmer spent Sunday and Monday in South Florida fundraising for the Florida Democratic Party alongside Miami mayoral candidate Eileen Higgins. Whitmer told the Herald she is not formally endorsing Higgins, but thinks Miami would be “well-served to have a leader like her.” She held a fundraiser for her own Fight Like Hell PAC later in the day, which gave $5,000 to former Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell last year.
Florida Democrats have been largely written off by national funding arms in recent election cycles, a replicating curse after years of struggles to win statewide races. When the Herald asked Whitmer whether her visit a year out from the midterms is any indication national Democratic investment could return to the largely-hung-out-to-dry Florida Democrats, she was vague.
“I can’t speak on behalf of the DNC, I don’t have a role there, but I will say this: our success in Michigan is absolutely interlinked with showing up everywhere, talking to everybody,” she said.
Whitmer also dropped by Coral Gables Sunday to promote her new memoir — a very pre-presidential move, much like Gov. Ron DeSantis’ did during the lead up to his failed presidential run. Florida’s 30 electoral college votes haven’t gone to a Democrat since 2012, but Whitmer insisted she is not looking that far ahead yet.
“I have no plans to run for president in 2028,” she told the Herald. “I am actually here because what we’re trying to do is make sure that as we go into midterms next year that we’re running on an agenda that really reflects what people need.”
But she left the door open for the possibility. “I’m hopeful that there are some Democratic governors who are in serious contention,” she said. “I don’t know that I’ve got to be the main character in the next chapter, but I certainly want to have a hand in helping write it.’
Florida Democratic Chairwoman Nikki Fried told the Herald that Whitmer’s visit a year out from the midterms reflects the party’s desire to engage voters all the time: “Being able to be here year-round in every part of our state, showing up, listening and then putting into action is how we’re going to get out of this moment.”
.jpg)