Gretchen Whitmer

Gretchen Whitmer assumed office as governor of Michigan on Jan. 1, 2019.

Whitmer was born on August 23, 1971, in Lansing, Michigan. Her father served as head of the Michigan Department of Commerce under Governor William Milliken and her mother was an assistant attorney general under Attorney General Frank Kelley. Whitmer earned her Bachelor of Arts in communications from Michigan State University in 1993 and her Juris Doctor from Michigan State University College of Law in 1998.

Whitmer began her political career in 2000 when she was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. In 2006, she was elected to the state Senate, where she served until 2014.

In 2020, Whitmer was the target of a kidnapping plot by six men associated with the Wolverine Watchmen, a Michigan-based militia group, who wished to overthrow Michigan’s government. The F.B.I. became aware of the plot and arrested the men.

Sources:

Ballotpedia (n.d.). Gretchen Whitmer. Retrieved on July 21, 2020, from https://ballotpedia.org/Gretchen_Whitmer.

Vote Smart. (n.d.). Gretchen Whitmer's Biography. Retrieved on July 21, 2020, from https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/37868/gretchen-whitmer.

National Governors Association. (n.d.). Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Retrieved on July 21, 2020, from https://www.nga.org/governor/gretchen-whitmer.

Anderson, T. (2012, January). Sen. Gretchen Whitmer. Stateline Midwest. Retrieved on July 21, 2020, from https://www.csgmidwest.org/publications/documents/p8Whitmer.pdf.