New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, left, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during a Democratic Women Governors panel on Aug. 21, 2024, at the Democratic National Convention, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa / States Newsroom)
CHICAGO — Actress and climate activist Julia Louis-Dreyfus asked eight Democratic women governors Wednesday if she would be ready for public office after playing a vice president and president on the hit cable TV show “Veep.”
“You’re more qualified than Donald Trump, don’t worry about it,” New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul quickly replied, to laughter in the packed room.
Louis-Dreyfus moderated a panel made up of the Democratic women governors at the Democratic National Convention. The political leaders in their roughly hour-long discussion touched on the unique benefits of being a woman in politics, and talked about how they are planning for potential interference and problems in the upcoming presidential elections.
Fake electors
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said she’s working closely with the secretary of state and attorney general to ensure that Arizona’s electoral votes are cast and to prepare for “every single scenario that comes our way.”
“I think the challenges that we saw in 2020 are going to look like kindergarten compared to what we see now,” she said. “But we are ready.”
A grand jury indicted 18 people in a fake elector scheme that aimed to install Donald Trump as president after he lost the state of Arizona in the 2020 election.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer faced a similar scenario, in which six individuals now face felony charges for submitting false electoral votes for Trump in 2020.
Prosecutors: No evidence of intent by N.M.’s fake electors
Whitmer said her state legislature has worked to pass legislation to protect election workers and make it easier for people to partake in early voting.
“We know that there are going to be all sorts of efforts” to influence the results, she said.
Louis-Dreyfus noted during Whitmer’s term she’s had to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, natural disasters and an attempted kidnapping and assassination plot.
“How do you stay afloat … under those circumstances?” she asked.
Whitmer said she keeps a gratitude journal and every day writes down three things that give her joy. She said sometimes the list stretches to 10 items, but other days it is not so long.
“Some days it is just my dog and my bed and tequila,” she said.
Women in state and local politics
Louis-Dreyfus asked why it was important to support women down the ballot, and not just on the national level.
Hobbs said early support is important, and noted that’s how Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, got her start as a San Francisco district attorney in 2003.
“Down ballot races are critical,” Hobbs said.
Several of the governors agreed, noting that’s how they were able to enter politics, through their local elections.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said she got her start in the state legislature. Kotek was the longest-serving speaker in the Oregon House of Representatives and the first openly lesbian speaker, elected in 2013.
“When I became speaker, all the other leadership at the time was male, and you notice when you’re the only one in the room,” she said.
It’s an occurrence that Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey knows, noting last year she became the first woman and open member of the LGBTQ community elected governor in her state.
Whitmer said as a woman in politics, she was often underestimated, which she said she sees as a strength, rather than a limitation.
“There are a lot of different ways that we are treated as compared to male candidates, but I would also say that it is a huge advantage to be underestimated,” she said.
Kansas Gov. and Democratic Governors Association Chair Laura Kelly said she thinks the underestimation that women face in politics “will fade away over time.”
Whitmer nodded. “With President Harris, it will.”
Louis-Dreyfus, who is also a comedian and starred in “Seinfeld,” asked how humor can find a place in politics.
“I think humor is an effective tool when things are hot and tense,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said.
Louis-Dreyfus asked the governors why are Republicans “so f- – – – – – weird?”
Maine Governor Janet Mills laughed and said she knows Republicans in her state who are planning to vote for Harris because “they don’t have a place to go.”
“They’re not all weird,” she said. “They know the traditional (Republican) party is not about Trump.”
Reproductive rights
Louis-Dreyfus asked how the overturning of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision has affected abortion access in the governors’ states.
Since the conservative Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion two years ago, Democrats have campaigned on it at the state and federal level. Reproductive right advocates have also led grassroots campaigns to put measures on state ballots to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
Texas activists pushed abortion restrictions in NM cities and counties, records show
In four states — California, Michigan, Ohio and Vermont — measures to amend the state constitutions to enshrine abortion protections passed, according to health policy organization KFF’s abortion ballot tracker. There are currently seven states with citizen-initiated measures on the ballot in November that will protect abortion access, in Arizona, Nevada, Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, Missouri and Florida.
Hochul said that after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the first thing she did was go to a vigil.
“It broke my heart,” she said.
Hochul said she called the state legislature back for an emergency session to pass legislation to protect medical professionals and patients who travel to New York to access abortion care.
“We let women from other states know this is a safe harbor for you to come here,” she said. “I’m going to fight like hell to get back (abortion rights) for my granddaughter.”
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