Gretchen Whitmer Definitively Rules Herself Out of Veepstakes on Morning Joe

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, whose name has been a fixture in debates over who Vice President Kamala Harris should pick to be her running mate, definitively took herself out of the veepstakes on Morning Joe Monday.

After introducing Whitmer and promoting her new book, host Jonathan Lemire noted that “You [Whitmer] are later today heading out on the campaign trail, heading to Pennsylvania — obviously a battleground state. You have been mentioned as a possible running mate for Vice President Harris.”

“So let’s just start there. Has the campaign reached out to you about that possibility?” he asked.

“I have communicated with everyone, including the campaign, that I’ve made a commitment to serve out my term as governor in Michigan,” replied Whitmer. “I can be an excellent ally to a President Harris and I can be a great co-chair of the Harris campaign from my place as governor. So I am not a part of the vetting.”

Whitmer has been the most prominent woman mentioned as possible running mate for Harris. Other contenders include Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro , North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper , and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly .

Whitmer endorsed Harris for president last Monday, one day after President Joe Biden suspended his own reelection campaign and threw his support behind Harris.

“In Vice President Harris, Michigan voters have a presidential candidate they can count on to focus on lowering their costs, restoring their freedoms, bringing jobs and supply chains back home from overseas, and building an economy that works for working people,” said Whitmer. “She’s a former prosecutor, a champion for reproductive freedom, and I know that she’s got Michigan’s back.”

Watch above via MSNBC.