Special Poll
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) dismissed the notion that Vice President Harris’s running mate must be a white man, calling concerns over an all-female presidential ticket “baloney” in a Monday interview on “CBS Mornings.”
“I don’t agree with that,” said Whitmer, who is a co-chair of the Harris campaign, when asked about the idea that Harris must pick a white man for her ticket.
Whitmer cited her own experience running in Michigan as evidence against this argument. “In Michigan, myself, my secretary of state, my attorney general — all the chief executives in Michigan — are women, and every one of us was told there may be too many women on the ticket. Baloney. We’ve proved that wrong in the swingiest of swing states.”
This interview comes as anticipation builds for Harris’s expected announcement of her running mate. Whitmer mentioned that she expects the announcement to happen within the next six or seven days.
Whitmer is the only woman among the Democrats frequently mentioned as potential picks for Harris’s vice president. The rest are white men. Despite this, Whitmer has repeatedly stated that she does not intend to seek the No. 2 spot and is not undergoing the standard vetting process.
“The Vice President has got a great group of people from whom she’s going to pick her running mate, and I know that I can be the best ally on the ground in Michigan as a co-chair of this campaign as well,” Whitmer said.
The Democratic National Committee announced last week that it plans to start a virtual roll-call vote to pick its presidential nominee on Aug. 1 and expects Harris to select a running mate by Aug. 7.