Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other Democratic leaders came together in a virtual press conference on Monday to mark 100-days before the general election and to advocate for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.
“She cares about every one of us, and that’s why I’m really excited that we go someone with a strong record that is our candidate for the White House and moved by the history that she’s going to make as the first woman … to be our president,” Whitmer said. “It’s really exciting, and it’s joyful, and I can feel it on the ground. We know what we’re up against, so our work is really important.”
Whitmer was joined by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing), U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) and Vice Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor), who each talked about the importance of the election, Democratic priorities up and down the ballot, and mobilizing behind Harris.
“We are working every single day to make sure that Democrats are elected up and down the ballot,” Stabenow said. “Yes, we want Kamala Harris to be president of the United States. She’s my friend. I worked with her in the Senate. We have had many opportunities to be together, and I can tell you she’s wonderful and a person, and she will be prepared and smart and tough and ready to go to represent us as president. But we also know that when we have a trifecta – when we have a Democratic president, vice president and majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, we get things done.”
Stabenow referenced the work the Michigan Legislature did in the first part of its term as part of a Democratic trifecta, the strides Democrats have been able to make at the federal level with the cost of prescription drugs a talked about the importance of Michigan in the upcoming federal elections.
“We know that all of this progress is going to stop if Republicans flip the Senate and flip the House as well as take over the presidency,” she said. “I watched Mike Rogers at the Republican convention a couple of weeks ago, and I was shocked that he railed against the future of clean energy in Michigan and the amazing electric vehicles our Michigan auto workers are building right now so that we own the future. Not China, not someplace else, but Michigan owns the future. Unfortunately, he and his buddy Donald Trump would like to take us backwards, and Kamala Harris will take us forward.”
While Democrats highlight the excitement they see following President Joe Biden dropping out of the race and Harris taking over, Republicans have remained critical of the Biden-Harris administration on everything, including the economy and immigration. Republicans have also been holding their own organizing events 100-days out from the General Election.
The Michigan Republican Party has called Harris “an out of touch California elite who has wrecked everything she has touched during her tenure as vice president,” and said former President Donald Trump will be better for Michigan.
Stevens highlighted Democrats in competitive House races across Michigan, including U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten of Grand Rapids in the 3rd U.S. House District, former Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. of East Lansing in the 7th U.S. House District, and Jessica Swartz of Kalamazoo in the 4th U.S. House District.
Scholten is running for a second term in the 3rd, where Republicans have a primary and will certainly be a top target; Hertel is up against former Sen. Tom Barrett of Charlotte in the open 7th; and Swartz is challenging U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland) in a long-shot bid.
“We’re going to be giving these Republicans a run for their money on the U.S. House side,” Stevens said. “Democrats want to govern. If you give us the gavel, we will deliver for you on prescription drugs. We will deliver on common sense gun safety legislation. We will enshrine Roe v. Wade into law through the Women’s Health Protection Act.”
Stevens went on to praise Harris’ record in the Senate and as vice president.
“We’re winning the House. We’re sending Kamala Harris to the United States presidency. And we are going to win come November,” Stevens said.
Unlike in 2016, when nearly half of white American women voted for Trump, Stevens said she thought Americans were ready to vote for a woman for president, especially now that they know what a Trump presidency looks like.
“I saw this as part of my election win in 2018. Women who had just always kind of been nonchalantly Republican or voting Republican became activated, and now, they’re the ones leading campaign kickoffs and getting signs in people’s yards, because they don’t want a misogynistic approach to governance,” Stevens said.
Stabenow added that a lot has changed since 2016.
“Women have to open the door and make it comfortable for women to be viewed as power, and then secondly, we now have seen because of Donald Trump and his Supreme Court, the world has completely changed,” she said. “We have women being threatened every time they turn around. Our reproductive freedoms, our ability to decide whether or not to use IVF to have a family. Even things like birth control and whether the government will control birth control for women … so there’s no doubt in my mind that the people of the country are ready to support a woman for president.”
Tate spoke about what Democrats have achieved in Michigan with a trifecta, including repealing the retirement tax, increasing the earned income tax credit, protecting access to reproductive care, passing gun legislation and creating the public safety trust fund.
“We know the importance of Michigan as a state,” Tate said. “We not only set the tone for voter turnout, but many turned to us as a prime example for governing with a unified message while fighting to preserve rights and freedoms for all of us and seeing our collective humanity, even amongst political differences.”
Tate said it was important to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.
“It’s going to be a retreat under a Trump-Vance administration, or it’s going to be a reawakening of our democracy under a Harris administration,” he said. “The choice is ours.”
Morgan discussed the enthusiasm of Michigan voters.
“I have not seen this kind of excitement from young voters since 2008,” he said. “We are seeing off the charts levels of enthusiasm, and I couldn’t be more excited about having Vice President Haris at the top of that ticket and about all of our incredible candidates running at every level here in Michigan.”
Stabenow attributed voter enthusiasm to Biden’s decision to step down and pass the torch to a new generation.
“Having decided myself not to run again and pass the torch is not an easy decision,” she said. “But he knew it was in the best interest of the country, given the stakes.”
Morgan said Harris’ qualifications to be the Democratic presidential nominee have also energized voters.
“She’s giving people hope in a way that is energizing and mobilizing them,” he said. “She’s exciting. She’s so incredibly prepared for the role, and she really is something that so many folks are looking to for the future of our country.”
Morgan also talked about the election for Michigan Supreme Court.
“Michigan is one of just two states where the state Supreme Court could be flipped to a conservative majority, and we won’t let that happen. We cannot let that happen,” he said. “Whoever sits in the Michigan highest court could be able to restrict or potentially destroy abortion access… so, this cycle, it’s crucial that we elect Democrats up and down the ballot because we cannot afford to just pay attention to the top of the ticket.”
– By Elena Durnbaugh
