Michigan governor Whitmer is in talks to be Joe Biden’s running mate despite lockdown protests in her state
MICHIGAN Governor Whitmer is in talks to become Joe Biden's 2020 running mate despite the lockdown protests in her state.
On Tuesday, said she's considering teaming up with , who is the presumptive Democratic nominee, despite her ongoing battle with demonstrators.
"I've had a conversation with some folks," Whitmer told the "Today" show. "It was just an opening conversation and it's not something that I would call a professional formalized vetting."
The news follows weeks of protests on the streets of Lansing, which saw a brawl break out last week when one protester representing Whitmer.
When pressed about the limited campaigning time she would have as a result of the virus crisis, Whitmer said her focus was leading Michigan through it safely.
"I am making a little bit of time to stay connected to the campaign, but the most important thing that I have to do right now is be the governor of my home state," she told Craig Melvin. "That's all that matters to me in this moment."
"If we drop our guard now, we could be in for a second wave and that would make all of the sacrifice we've made the last 10 weeks in vain and we'd have to take steps backward.
"While we're not universal in a lot of things in this moment, I think we all know we don't want to take a step backward and so everyone has to keep their guard up and be vigilant and do everything they can to mitigate the spread."
Biden has announced his intention to choose a female running mate in March, before being beset by , which he has denied.
Whitmer backed the presidential hopeful, saying "not every claim was equal" and Reade's claims were not “consistent with” the person she knows.
First-term governor Whitmer has also experienced controversy after angering with her strict stay home orders in the state to mitigate the spread of .
Whitmer, 48 — who previously served in the Michigan state House and Senate, and was a county prosecutor — comes from one of the three states the president won over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
But if Biden wants to sit in the Oval Office he could win Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania back to do so.
As well as Whitmer, he's also considering former rivals senators of ; of , and of
But Biden could choose Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada to garner favor with the Latino supporters there, or military vet Tammy Duckworth of .
Last month, cops came to Whitmer's aid after the Michigan House of Representative chamber ahead of her lockdown extension.
Despite the mass protests, Whitmer decided to continue the stay-at-home order through May 28, which was due to expire on May 15.
Whitmer had already extended the order through April 30, closing down schools and businesses deemed non-essential.
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She also issued an executive order closing home-improvement stores, restricting travel between states and barring residents from leaving urban areas to wait out the crisis in more rural parts of Michigan.
The lawmaker also banned boating, fishing, gardening and home-improvements, part of a strict package of lockdown restrictions.
Some of those restrictions were lifted before her third extension but not enough to calm the hoards of protesters, who marched on the capitol.
