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Gov. Whitmer says VP speculation 'not a bad thing' for Michigan

Published  June 11, 2020 5:34pm EDT
Gretchen Whitmer
FOX 2 Detroit

(FOX 2) - Given another chance to remove her name from the list of potential vice presidential candidates for Joe Biden, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer refused - but for the first time, she revealed one of the reasons she is staying in the hunt.  

The governor has gotten more national publicity than all the other modern-day governors combined, with over 60 national TV appearances. And on each one, the question always comes up and every time she answers the same way - Do you want to be vice president? "I am focused completely not on doing anything other than the job that I have right now."

Gov. Whitmer talks VP speculation with Tim Skubick on Off the Record

FOX 2's political analyst Tim Skubick talks about the speculation surrounding Gov. Whitmer and the vice presidential pick.

End of story? Not quite. Come to find out, Gov. Whitmer is doing exactly what former governor Rick Snyder did.

He never confirmed that he was interested in vice presidency because he confided that keeping the speculation going gave him a chance to sell the state to the nation.

"I'm not confirming or denying. Sometimes it can be marketing for Michigan," Gov. Snyder told FOX 2's political analyst Tim Skubick.

Ditto for this governor - a hidden agenda. "It's not a bad thing for the state," Gov. Whitmer said on June 12's Off the Record Overtime. 

So the speculation continues, even though some players in town have quietly advised her to drop out.

"I haven't put my name in consideration. I'm not going to take my name out of consideration," she said. 

Yet, this governor is facing a whopping two year, $6 billion deficit and, by her own admission "we're not out of the woods" with the pandemic, so could she in good conscience leave the state to campaign for a national office leaving that all behind?

"I'm not going to have that debate with you now, Tim. That is not an option for me at this moment. That is not something I'm thinking through. That is not something I'm spending a lot of energy and time on," she said. "I am 100% invested in Michigan. This is home. This is where I want to spend the rest of my life.

"We've got a lot of work to do and that's why I'm having a hard time even having those conversations because I've got to stay right here focused on Michigan."