In recent days, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer put off local reporters who asked whether and who she might be endorsing in the Democratic presidential primary. Apparently she was waiting for a national platform, which she found Thursday morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
She used it to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden, to the surprise of probably no one. The Detroit News reports on Whitmer's appearance:
Whitmer credited Biden for "working to protect health care." She also highlighted the efforts of former President Barack Obama and Biden to save the auto industry during the economic recession.
When Michigan needed help, it was Obama and Biden who "had our back," Whitmer said.
"I think the blueprint from 2018 about showing up, focusing on the dinner table issues and getting things done is exactly what Joe Biden represents," Whitmer said. "And that's why he has my enthusiastic support."
Whitmer also proclaimed her support on Twitter:
We need a president who will show up and fight for Michiganders, and @JoeBiden has proven time and again that he has our back. I am proud to both endorse him and announce that I will be joining his campaign as a co-chair. pic.twitter.com/Vs5J4Ik09F
— Gretchen Whitmer (@gretchenwhitmer) March 5, 2020
Hours later on Twitter, first-term U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, also came out for the former vice-president and toild why in an eight-sentence statement.
Biden also picked up endorsements from both Detroit dailies. The conservative News, where opinion editor Nolan Finley has been a Never Trumper, wrote:
In fact, the former vice president may be the only one who can fulfill the Democratic desire to deny Trump a second term.
At the Free Press, the editorial board wrote:
... The nation, and our closely divided state, would be far better served by the succession of Joe Biden, whose four decades of experience in Congress and the West Wing have uniquely prepared him to meet the challenges awaiting the next president.
Metro Times, by contrast, on Wednesday endorsed Bernie Sanders as "the leader of a movement on the left against complacency."
Looks like it just wasn't Tulsi Gabbard's year.
