Although Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she is more comfortable being in state politics than on a national stage, she did not rule out Tuesday becoming Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate should President Joe Biden, 81, step aside as the Democrat nominee for health reasons.
During an appearance on "The View," Whitmer said Harris is "an incredibly capable vice president" and that her potentially replacing Biden atop the Democrat ticket would be "the natural conclusion," the Washington Examiner reported.
When asked if she was interested in being Harris' running mate, Whitmer said she has never looked at political positions in Washington "with a lot of excitement," stating her passion for state politics.
"But, you know, I'll never say never. But that's not something I am angling for," Whitmer said, adding she made a commitment to finish her gubernatorial term in 2026. She would be term-limited from seeking a third term in office.
Democrats have been in crisis mode since Biden's shaky and halting debate performance June 27 against former President Donald Trump, when concerns were raised about the mental and physical health of the oldest-serving president in U.S. history. Some Democrat lawmakers and high-powered donors have called on Biden to withdraw from the race.
But in a letter Monday to congressional Democrats, Biden wrote he is "firmly committed" to staying in the race and called for an "end" to the intraparty drama that has torn apart Democrats since his widely criticized debate performance.
In an opinion piece published Friday by CNN, Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, wrote that a Harris-Whitmer ticket "would create a stark contrast with Trump; while the former president would represent more of the same, Harris and Whitmer would offer a fresh vision of what America is all about."
"While there are legitimate concerns about whether Harris can generate the kind of electoral excitement that would be needed to defeat Trump, the charismatic ticket would offer just what the party needs," Zelizer wrote. "This would shift the conversation away from a party scrambling in the final months before the election to one that could move the nation forward."