Gretchen Whitmer

Gretchen Whitmer (2020)

Gretchen [ɡrɛtʃən] Esther Whitmer (* 23. August 1971 in Lansing , Michigan ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party , and since January 1, 2019 Governor of Michigan. The lawyer was a member of both the House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate between 2001 and 2015 . In the Senate, she was also chairman of the democratic parliamentary group from 2011. She has also been Vice-Chair of the DNC since the beginning of 2021 .

Life

Gretchen Whitmer giving a speech in 2011

Her parents were both lawyers, and her father, Richard Whitmer, was Michigan State Secretary of Commerce under Senator William Milliken ( R ). Her mother worked intermittently in the Michigan Attorney General's office. After receiving a BA in communications from Michigan State University and a JD law degree from Detroit College of Law (now Michigan State University College of Law), she worked in the legal field herself. In 2000, she successfully ran for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives and was a member of the House of Representatives until 2006. Due to an early vacancy in the 23rd constituency of the State Senate, she successfully ran for the Upper House of the federal legislature in a by-election. After several re-elections, she was a member of the Senate until January 2015. A candidacy announced in October 2009 for the post of Attorney General of Michigan withdrew Whitmer in early 2010 for personal reasons. She was unable to run for the 2014 elections due to a term limit. From 2011 she was chairman of the opposition democratic group (minority leader) . After retiring from the State Legislature , she became an interim County Prosecutor for Ingham County between July and December 2016 .

Candidacy for governor

After Whitmer had rejected a possible candidacy for the governorship in the 2014 elections , she announced in January 2017 that she was running for the highest office in the state in the elections on November 6, 2018. In the Democratic primary on August 7, 2018, she sat as expected in surveys against two competitors: Around 52% of democratic voters spoke out in favor of them. As her candidate for the office of lieutenant governor, she selected the African-American local politician from Detroit Garlin Gilchrist . The former Attorney General of Michigan, Bill Schuette , emerged victorious from the Republican area code on the same day . This was supported by US President Donald Trump , among others . In the actual election on November 6, 2018, Whitmer prevailed with 53.3% of the vote; 43.8% of the electorate voted for Schuette. Incumbent Rick Snyder was not allowed to run again after two terms.

One of their most important political goals in the election campaign was to improve the ailing infrastructure and strengthen civil rights . Whitmer also wants to improve health care and give more people access to public health insurance.

Michigan governor

Gretchen Whitmer was sworn in as the 49th governor of Michigan on January 1, 2019. At her side, Garlin Gilchrist was the first African American to take up the post of lieutenant governor. After Jennifer Granholm (2003-2011) she is the second woman in the highest office of this state. Since the Republicans were able to hold their majorities in both chambers of the state legislature despite democratic gains , their government must cooperate with the opposition on legislative issues.

In her first decree as governor, she ordered that all government employees should immediately report possible threats to the health and safety of citizens to their superiors, who must then immediately initiate investigations. The order is seen in response to the Flint water crisis .

During the COVID-19 pandemic , Michigan had the most fatalities after New York and New Jersey up to and including April 2020, so Whitmer imposed strict curfews. To protest against these measures, hooded men with weapons of war positioned themselves in front of their governor's office in the Michigan State Capitol .

→ Main article : Plan to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer

On October 8, 2020, the FBI arrested 13 members of the paramilitary extremist group Wolverine Watchmen , six of whom are charged with plotting to kidnap Governor Whitmer. The other seven are charged with plotting to start a civil war. A published court document documents that the six men had discussed Whitmer's abduction at least since the summer of 2020, had also observed their holiday home and tested an explosive device.

Private

Gretchen Whitmer has two daughters from her first marriage. Her husband since 2011, Marc Mallory, has three sons from their first marriage.

Web links

Commons : Gretchen Whitmer  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the State of Michigan (English)
• Campaign site (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ President-elect Joe Biden nominates Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as the Vice Chair for the DNC. Retrieved February 4, 2021 (American English). 
2. ↑ FHC alumna Senator Gretchen Whitmer is running for Governor , The Central Trend, January 18, 2017
3. ↑ Michigan Democrats disappointed that Gretchen Whitmer will not run for governor, still optimistic for strong candidates in 2014 , MLive, January 30, 2013
4. ↑ Gretchen Whitmer names Detroit native, Garlin Gilchrist II as running mate , Michigan Radio, August 20, 2018 (English)
5. ↑ Michigan Governor - Schuette vs. Whitmer , RealClearPolitics (English)
6. ↑ I'm ready - are you? , Gretchen Whitmer in Medium.com, January 3, 2017
7. ↑ Devan Cole: Michigan governor's response to Trump's State of the Union to highlight state Democrats want to win in 2020. In: edition.cnn.com. CNN , February 4, 2020, accessed October 10, 2020 . 
8. ^ Paul Egan: Whitmer signs 1st executive directive in response to Flint water crisis . In: Detroit Free Press , January 2, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2020. 
9. ↑ ^{a b} Alexander Sarovic: Michigan's governor Gretchen Whitmer: Trump's favorite enemy . In: Der Spiegel. Accessed May 1, 2020 . 
10. ↑ Alexander Sarovic: Planned kidnapping of the governor of Michigan: The Whitmer plot. In: Der Spiegel. Retrieved October 9, 2020 . 
11. ↑ Planned kidnapping of Governor Gretchen Whitmer. In: FAZ.net. October 8, 2020, accessed October 8, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Shaila Dewan, Kathleen Gray: FBI Says a Michigan Militia Plotted to Kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. In: New York Times. August 10, 2020, accessed on August 10, 2020 . 
13. ↑ FBI prevents plot to kidnap US governor. In: zeit.de. October 9, 2020, accessed October 9, 2020 .