Whitmer Says America Is Ready for a Female President | The American Spectator

With just a year left in her term and two years until the Democratic primary debates, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is stepping up her preparations for a presidential bid.

This weekend, she hit the trail for a campaign-style tour, stopping in Florida, Wisconsin, and New Jersey, with the theme of helping Democrats to regain traction in places where the party has struggled in recent years. Florida has turned bright red, Wisconsin backed Donald Trump in the last election, and traditionally blue New Jersey has become surprisingly competitive. Whitmer believes herself to be well-positioned to assist in these states given her own reputation for turning Michigan’s state government entirely blue. That success is likely to serve her well in a Democratic primary given the party’s search for a winning message after its 2024 shellacking. (RELATED: Gavin Newsom’s Presidential Campaign Unofficially Begins)

Whitmer portrayed her four-day, three-state tour as an effort to support fellow Democrats in the upcoming gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey and to promote her book, but she did not shy away from signaling the presidential ambitions underlying her trip.

“After the last election, I heard some people say, ‘We’re not ready for a woman president.’ To that, I say, ‘BS!’” Whitmer said at a book event in Miami.

During her stop in Wisconsin, Whitmer hosted a training event for local Democratic operatives, campaign staff, and future candidates. The idea was for her to relate the tactics that helped her shift Michigan leftward with a state that shares many political similarities.

In Wisconsin, she emphasized a strategy of building consensus on kitchen-table issues that appeal across party lines. She urged Democrats to use this economic pragmatism to connect with voters, especially those in the rural areas of the state that are trending to the right. She said, “We need people to focus on the things that matter to the majority, right: affordable housing, a career and a really good job where you can provide for your family, helping people get ahead and keep more money in their pockets.”

In Florida, she added optimism to her public persona. “I love what I do,” she said. “Even on the hardest day, I know what I do makes a difference, and there is so much joy in that.” She even went on about the benefits she reaps from writing in her “gratitude journal.”

Whitmer also campaigned for Democratic New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, whose race against Republican Jack Ciattarelli is close. A Fox News poll released last week showed Sherrill up by 5 points. A Trafalgar poll released last week put the difference at only 1 point in Sherrill’s favor, which has made many Democrats nervous, especially given how long they have viewed the state as safe.

In New Jersey, Whitmer utilized the “fight like hell” mentality she has made part of her political brand and the name of her super PAC. (RELATED: Poll: New Jersey Governor’s Race Too Close to Call)

“I may not be from here, but let me tell you, New Jerseyans are a lot like Michiganders,” she said. “We work hard, we’re tough, we want the best for each other. You’re loud, you’re proud, and you don’t off around.”

“This is a clear choice: We got a guy who’s going to get bossed around by D.C., versus a woman who can get s**t done,” Whitmer continued. “We got a bad actor who’s willing to sell you out, or a badass Navy pilot who will take on any woman who messes with New Jersey.”

Surely, this is just the start of many campaign stops for Gretchen Whitmer.

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