At MSU book tour event, Whitmer again says she has no plans to seek national office

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a stop on her "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reiterated Tuesday that she currently has no plans to run for president or vice president.

Whitmer was asked the familiar question by former Gov. Jim Blanchard during a book tour stop at her alma mater at Michigan State University in East Lansing. The Democratic former governor told her that he hears people mention wanting her to seek a higher office everywhere he visits.

“I can tell you this. I’ve been consistent, and it’s totally genuine. I’ve made a commitment to serve out my term as governor here. That is 100% where my head is at,” Whitmer said. “Flattered to be considered — it is flattering to have been on a list or considered — [but] my commitment is to Michigan.”

Whitmer noted that the release of “True Gretch” has coincided with a pivotal few weeks in American politics, overlapping with the first presidential debate, an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and the decision by President Joe Biden to end his own re-election campaign, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him.

Whitmer, who was on Biden’s VP shortlist in 2020, said the president dropping out was “the right move for a lot of reasons” and said she’s “fired up” about Harris being at the top of the ticket.

“It doesn’t make for great headlines when everyone likes one another and is excited, but that is the God’s honest truth,” Whitmer said.

Although Whitmer rejected the idea of serving as vice president, Blanchard teed her up for what could be viewed as an audition for how she would approach the role.

Asked whether Whitmer knew Republican vice presidential nominee Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, Whitmer answered, “I read his book.” She noted that “Hillbilly Elegy” had been chosen as the selection for a community book event at MSU years prior.

Blanchard rattled off a list of things Vance had previously said that were critical of Trump, asking Whitmer how he then ended up serving as the running mate for the man he once called “America’s Hitler.”

“You want me to explain the mentality of a Buckeye?” Whitmer joked.

“We want to hire people who have experience,” Whitmer added. “You’re talking about a ticket that has six years of public service experience among them. That matters. We’re tackling important issues that profoundly impact people’s lives every single day. We’re dealing with conflicts around the globe. To have two novices taking the reins, I think, is a really troubling thing.”

Whitmer said it was at Michigan State University, while she was in law school, that she hit her stride, noting that she graduated magna cum laude.

Prior to that, Whitmer said she wasn’t always the perfect role model, recounting a time in high school when she got drunk, passed out and puked on her principal, something she writes about in her book.

“It was not my finest moment,” Whitmer said.

But she began to turn things around, knowing that she wanted to attend MSU and was not on the track to do that.

That evolution as a student continued as an undergraduate student, Whitmer said.

“I think you’ve already picked up on the fact that I wasn’t the most serious student — bowling, ice skating. I took the movie class, Jim Cash’s movie class,” Whitmer said to cheers from the audience. “I loved that class. Might’ve also been the Boone’s Farm we had while we were watching the movies. I’m just going to put it all out there.”

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a stop on her "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

An audience member holds a copy of "True Gretch" during a stop on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a stop on her "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Former Gov. Jim Blanchard, left, interviews Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, right, during a stop on Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

An audience member reads from a copy of "True Gretch" during a stop on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Former Gov. Jim Blanchard, left, interviews Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, right, during a stop on Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Former Gov. Jim Blanchard, left, interviews Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, right, during a stop on Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Former Gov. Jim Blanchard, left, interviews Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, right, during a stop on Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Former Gov. Jim Blanchard, left, interviews Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, right, during a stop on Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a stop on her "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

An audience member holds a copy of "True Gretch" during a stop on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz introduces Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during a stop on Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

A member of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's security detail monitors the audience during a stop on Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz introduces Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during a stop on Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in East Lansing, Mich., on July 23, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

A group of protestors stand outside a stop on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in Chelsea, Mich., on July 22, 2024. The protestors moved to a stage door once an unmarked SUV that appeared to be part of Whitmer's security detail pulled up, but the vehicle sped off with no sighting of Whitmer exiting the building. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

A group of protestors stand outside a stop on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in Chelsea, Mich., on July 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer held a stop on her book tour promoting her novel "True Gretch" at The Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea, Mich., on July 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

A group of protestors stood outside a stop on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's "True Gretch" book tour in Chelsea, Mich., on July 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

While Whitmer’s name continues to be floated as a potential running mate for Harris or as a future presidential candidate, voters who attended a stop on the governor’s book tour in Chelsea on Monday said they wanted her to stay in the state.

“I’d like to see her stay right here in Michigan,” said Bob Pierce. “We need her here — especially if things don’t go the way they should nationally.”

“She said she was going to stay here in Michigan and I support what she says fully,” Steve Daut said.

That event also attracted a small pro-Trump protest.

There was also some concern from attendees about the electability of an all-female ticket.

“I think it does need to be balanced,” Daut said. “Whoever it is needs to balance the ticket.”

Susan Lackey agreed, but said she has been pleasantly surprised before.

“On the other hand, I am a woman who said an entire Democratic ticket made up of women in the top statewide offices was dangerous, and look what happened,” Lackey said, referring to Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “They were all elected handily, and I was wrong. And pleased to be proven wrong.”

At least two of the names being floated as potential male running mates are also Michigan residents: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.).

Buttigieg has been thoroughly vetted and tested on the national level, having run a presidential campaign of his own in 2020, at one point being considered the frontrunner in early voting states. He has often been praised for his skill in communicating during national television interviews.

Peters successfully defended a vulnerable Senate seat in 2020 and serves as the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He often delivers an energetic stump speech, but ran on keeping his head down and getting results between election cycles in his 2020 campaign.

Both Peters and Buttigieg are Navy veterans, with Buttigieg serving for six years and Peters serving for 15 years.

The Harris campaign has reportedly requested vetting materials from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Whitmer.

However, Whitmer told reporters at her education budget signing in Flint earlier on Monday that she had not been asked for vetting materials by the Harris campaign.

“I am not interested in doing anything other than this job for the next two and a half years. I’ve not sent any documentation to anyone,” Whitmer said.

Asked by Blanchard about the campaign requesting vetting documents, Whitmer reiterated that “my commitment is to the people of Michigan.

Lackey said she trusts the process as Harris weighs her options.

“You can pick up and newspaper today and read nine highly qualified potential candidates,” Lackey said. “People that know a whole lot more about the strategies behind the next 100 days than I do are going to be vetting those people and making decisions based on that.”

But for those who still want Whitmer to run for president or vice president at some point, there may still be hope.

Whitmer said that not only did she not think when she was a student at Michigan State University that she would one day run for governor —she didn’t even think that when she was leaving the Michigan Legislature due to term limits in 2014.

“I thought, ‘OK, I’ve been in the minority the whole time. I’ve got my teeth kicked in every day for 14 years; I am going to move onto something else,” Whitmer said.

Whitmer resumed practicing law and taught at the University of Michigan before being appointed interim Ingham County prosecutor.

But after seeing the Flint water crisis unfold, Whitmer said she looked at the field of people who were considering running for governor in 2018 and thought she could fix the problem.

That echoes how she first came to run for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2000.

“When I ran for state House here in East Lansing, it was someone who called me and suggested it to me. I never thought of myself as a candidate,” Whitmer said. “It was someone else who said, you know, ‘Gretchen … you should think about running.’ And I looked at the field of candidates and thought, ‘I can do as good a job as any of them, maybe I will run.’”

Whitmer did and she won. And in fact, she’s never lost a race.

Advance reporter Kyle Davidson contributed this story.

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