{"id":2287012,"date":"2024-07-01T09:30:36","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T13:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whitmer-vaults-to-top-of-donor-lists-while-big-gretch-tries-to-promise-loyalty-to-biden-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-01T09:46:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T13:46:06","slug":"whitmer-vaults-to-top-of-donor-lists-while-big-gretch-tries-to-promise-loyalty-to-biden-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whitmer-vaults-to-top-of-donor-lists-while-big-gretch-tries-to-promise-loyalty-to-biden-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitmer rises in donor rankings as \u2018Big Gretch\u2019 pledges loyalty to Biden &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhitmer-vaults-to-top-of-donor-lists-while-big-gretch-tries-to-promise-loyalty-to-biden-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2287012&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article\u200b discusses the growing support \u2062for Michigan\u200d Governor Gretchen Whitmer among Democratic donors as a potential \u2062replacement for President Joe \u2062Biden. While \u2063some see her as a strong candidate for the 2024 election,\u200d others\u200b believe she may struggle to secure the nomination against Vice President Kamala \u200bHarris. Whitmer has gained attention for her \u200bhandling of\u2063 the pandemic \u2063and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/second-amendment-advocates-fear-biden-admin-will-restrict-private-gun-sales\/\" title=\"Second Amendment supporters worry about potential restrictions on private gun sales under the Biden administration.\">gun safety\u200d legislation<\/a>, and \u200bher name has been mentioned as a \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/search-warrant-or-not-americans-have-no-reason-believe-the-fbi-raid-on-trumps-florida-home-was-justified\/\" title=\"Search Warrant Or Not, Americans Have No Reason  Believe The FBI Raid On Trump\u2019s Florida Home Was Justified\">potential future presidential candidate<\/a>. Current \u2062polls show\u200b that she would face a close race against President \u200bTrump. Despite this, Whitmer&#8217;s\u200c popularity suggests she may be a strong contender in future elections. <br \/> 2%, against Trump, though she doesn&rsquo;t match up against him as well, as Biden or Harris ( + 14% both).<\/p>\n<p>This\u200b article discusses the rising popularity of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer among Democratic donors, who are considering her as a potential replacement for President Joe Biden after his poor\u2063 performance in the first presidential debate. While some\u2064 see her as \u200da strong candidate\u2064 for\u2063 the 2024 election, others believe she would face difficulty in securing the nomination against Vice President Kamala Harris. Despite this, Whitmer has gained attention \u200bfor her handling of the pandemic \u200band <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-is-embarrassing-march-for-our-lives-co-founder-shreds-david-hogg-for-pillow-grift-company\/\" title=\"\u2018This Is Embarrassing\u2019: March For Our Lives Co-Founder Shreds David Hogg For \u2018Pillow Grift\u2019 Company\">gun safety legislation<\/a>, and her name\u2062 has been thrown around alongside other Democratic governors as\u2062 a\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/search-warrant-or-not-americans-have-no-reason-believe-the-fbi-raid-on-trumps-florida-home-was-justified\/\" title=\"Search Warrant Or Not, Americans Have No Reason  Believe The FBI Raid On Trump\u2019s Florida Home Was Justified\">potential future presidential candidate<\/a>. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/matthew-mcconaughey-is-putting-out-feelers-for-texas-governorship\/\" title=\"Matthew McConaughey Is Putting Out Feelers For Texas Governorship\">current polls show<\/a> that she \u200dwould face a close race against President Trump.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">\n<div class=\"tdb-search-form-inner\"><input class=\"tdb-head-search-form-input\" placeholder=\" \" type=\"text\" value name=\"s\" autocomplete=\"off\"><button class=\"wpb_button wpb_btn-inverse btn tdb-head-search-form-btn\" title=\"Search\" type=\"submit\"><span>Search<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Whitmer vaults to top of donor lists while &lsquo;Big Gretch&rsquo; tries to promise loyalty to Biden<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> <a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/rokeefe\/\">Ross O&#8217;Keefe<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2024-07-01T08:43:13-04:00\">July 1, 2024 8:43 am<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1692049\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gretchen-whitmer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Gretchen Whitmer<\/a> (D-MI) is a darling candidate to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democratic<\/a> donors scrambling for President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden&rsquo;s<\/a> replacement after his abysmal debate performance.<\/p>\n<p>Some know her as &ldquo;Big Gretch,&rdquo; as buzz builds to her presidential candidacy in the &ldquo;Draft Gretch&rdquo; movement, but she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2024\/07\/01\/whitmer-biden-democrats-2028-00165995?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=f30a4edf-4720-44be-853f-499f03445417&amp;nlid=630318\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reportedly<\/a> threw her support behind Biden in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-secretary-of-state-brad-raffenspergers-update-to-georgias-voting-machine-software-right-before-the-2020-election-was-unlawful-and-violates-any-certification-of-state-results\/\" title=\"Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger\u2019s Update to Georgia\u2019s Voting Machine Software Right Before the 2020 Election Was Unlawful and Violates Any Certification of State Results\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-secretary-of-state-brad-raffenspergers-update-to-georgias-voting-machine-software-right-before-the-2020-election-was-unlawful-and-violates-any-certification-of-state-results\/\" title=\"Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger\u2019s Update to Georgia\u2019s Voting Machine Software Right Before the 2020 Election Was Unlawful and Violates Any Certification of State Results\">recent phone call<\/a><\/a> and condemned shouts for her to replace the president.<\/p>\n<p>While doing that, she apparently declared Michigan &ldquo;no longer winnable for Biden&rdquo; in the wake of Biden&rsquo;s debate performance, which confirmed many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2287002\" title=\"Whitmer rises in donor rankings as \u2018Big Gretch\u2019 pledges loyalty to Biden - Washington Examiner\">age-related concerns voters<\/a> had about the president. Michigan is considered a critical swing state that would make winning in November unlikely for Biden if he can&rsquo;t capture it.<\/p>\n<p>Whitmer&rsquo;s name, as well as others, such as Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, has been thrown around as a possible replacement for Biden since the debate.<\/p>\n<p>There are two obvious ways for Biden to be replaced on the ticket: Democrats could invoke the 25th Amendment and try to replace Biden with Harris, or delegates at the Democratic National Convention could revolt and cast their votes for someone other than Biden on the floor in Chicago.<\/p>\n<p>In either scenario, Harris would likely be first in line for the Democratic nominee position, given her continual spot in the public eye and her position in the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<p>Whitmer is an appealing option for donors and voters as a member of a deep bench of Democratic governors with executive experience who have their eyes on higher office in 2028. Many younger governors, such as Whitmer, Newsom, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), and Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), have been floated as quality presidential candidates.<\/p>\n<p>A recent blast email from Chet Atkins, a former House member from Massachusetts-turned-lobbyist, pushed for donors to send money to Whitmer&rsquo;s campaign.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;How can you not love a Governor who is affectionately called &lsquo;Big Gretch&rsquo; by Detroit rappers, a Governor who faced down a kidnap attempt, and passed gun safety legislation in response,&rdquo; Atkins wrote in the email, adding that the election is going to hinge on Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania and that &ldquo;no one knows and understands these voters the way she does.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Whitmer reportedly did not know about the email or approve it.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Over the next several weeks, party leaders and the press will be looking to see who has the momentum and the ability to beat Trump,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;A massive outpouring of small and large dollar donations to Gretchen Whitmer&rsquo;s political committee will send a strong and clear message. It will also allow her to be ready on day one when the nomination opens up.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But most of the candidates, as reported by <em>Politico<\/em>, would be hard-pressed to make it past Harris if Biden steps down or is replaced. That includes Whitmer, though her buzz in this year&rsquo;s race is indicative of her possible 2028 popularity.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the NAACP Detroit branch Fight for Freedom Fund dinner in Detroit on Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo\/Paul Sancya)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Trump leads in two out of three national polls released after the debate and is up 1.9 points in the <em>Real Clear Politics<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/president\/general\/2024#!\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>average<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Whitmer loses against Trump 46% to 44% in a recent head-to-head <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dataforprogress.org\/blog\/2024\/6\/29\/in-post-debate-poll-voters-think-biden-is-too-old-to-be-president-yet-alternative-candidates-perform-similarly-against-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>poll<\/a> between the former president and myriad Democrats. However, Whitmer had the closest margin, at 2%, between her and Trump than every candidate except Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), though voters in the poll rated the theoretical races &ldquo;not sure&rdquo; more than Biden versus Trump and Harris versus Trump.<\/p>\n<p>A more direct section of the poll that asks voters to select a theoretical replacement for Biden placed Whitmer&rsquo;s support at only 6%, ranking fifth below Booker, Buttigieg, Newsom, and Harris.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1692049\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1692049\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Tags<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\/\">2024 Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrat\/\">Democrat<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donors\/\">Donors<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gretchen-whitmer\/\">Gretchen Whitmer<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\">Joe Biden<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michigan\/\">Michigan<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/presidential\/\">Presidential<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While Whitmer is gaining popularity among Democratic donors as a potential replacement for President Biden, she is not seen as a strong contender against Trump compared to Biden or Harris, who have higher percentages of support<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2287013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AP24142594799157.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[15789,3620,33472,33471,12025],"class_list":["post-2287012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-loyalty","tag-biden","tag-big-gretch","tag-donor-rankings","tag-whitmer"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/AP24142594799157.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2287012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2287012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2287013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2287012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2287012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2287012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}