With top Michigan officials at DNC, state treasurer is the acting governor

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Michigan's top brass is at DNC, so who is in charge of the state?

Meanwhile 'back at the ranch' the question is, who has been the acting governor?

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer will be back in the national spotlight attention at the Democratic National Convention - and all week the state's top officials have been in Chicago for the festivities. 

Back home, though, some are asking legal questions over who is the acting governor with the absence of top officials.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has come a long way from her first job in state government, when she was a lowly intern.

"I was an intern and when I graduated from state they hired me on," she said. "I did a lot of constituent work for a number of members of the legislature."

In other words she answered the phone and wrote letters. On Thursday night she'll answer the call to reve up the convention to support the Harris- Walz ticket.

Governors from other states got to speak at the DNC in Chicago, but they were relegated to other less important days of the week.

And they certainly did not get the climatic closing night platform that Whitmer will have.

Meanwhile 'back at the ranch' the question is, who has been the acting governor? Not  Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist.

Not Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and not Attorney General Dana Nessel who spoke at the DNC Wednesday night.

Also at the DNC, high-ranking Dems Southfield State Sen. Jeremy Moss and Detroit House Speaker Joe Tate. All of them are in the succession line to be governor but all of them are Chicago and so the line of succession ends up with the state treasurer.

In their stead, State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks is now the acting governor. 

Some lawyers disagree on whether this is legal, with her being an appointed - and not elected official.

But Eubanks is not expected to make any major decisions as she awaits the return of the duly elected governor - after her national spotlight gig.

Rachael Eubanks