Whitmer to Washington would knock over political dominoes from Lansing to Detroit

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer consistently says she does not intend to run for president and, even after she was floated as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris, insisted she will serve the rest of her term in Lansing. Just about the only elected official I can think of who has been equally unwavering in their public pledges about their political ambitions is Joe Biden, who said he would never stop running for president.

Uh-oh ...

Biden's historic reversal last week changes the dynamic in the presidential race in a way we've never seen before. And even if Whitmer remains steadfast in her declaration that she won't leave Lansing, a spot on the ticket with Harris or, perhaps more likely, a cabinet post if Harris and Whomever beat Donald Trump and JD Vance may seem a lot more attractive than winding up her gubernatorial career as a lame duck with every ambitious Democrat angling to be her successor.

Vice president is the job infamously described as "not worth a pitcher of warm piss," by John Nance Garner, who said that after serving two terms as VP to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It's the job virtually every politician says they don't want — until it's offered to them. Then they gratefully accept it as if their dearest dream has just come true.

But a cabinet post — or an ambassadorship — could be a nice reward for Whitmer, who will serve as a co-chair for Harris' presidential campaign, just as she did for Biden.

To speculate on such matters in a situation as fluid as this is like trying to build a house of cards on a trampoline. It is, candidly, a columnist's nightmare.

This much I say with confidence: If the new Democratic ticket wins with Big Gretch as vice president, or as a top choice for a primo cabinet position or ambassadorship, it will upend Michigan's political landscape in a way no living person in Michigan has seen before.

Domino effect

Whitmer leaving Lansing before her term ends on Jan. 1, 2027, would make Garlin Gilchrist governor. Gilchrist, the lieutenant governor and a Detroit Democrat, currently is an ambitious politician looking for something to run for, but finding no easy path.

Being elevated to governor would make Gilchrist the de facto incumbent and front-runner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2026. The last time something like this happened, Lt. Gov. William Milliken succeeded Gov. George Romney when he joined Richard Nixon's administration in 1969. Milliken, a Republican, finished out Romney's term and was reelected three times.

I can think of two people who are dreading such a scenario, and a gaggle more who could be equally unhappy.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson are expected to compete for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2026, a race that would be dramatically complicated by a sitting Democratic governor. Duggan, a white man who lived most of his pre-mayoral life in the suburbs, is likely not eager to face a Black man from Detroit. And Benson, a white woman from Detroit, would likely not relish the competition for Michigan's progressive votes.

The row of falling dominoes will run all the way down Interstate 96 to Detroit, where establishment and business-types worried about City Council President Mary Sheffield succeeding Duggan as mayor may try to talk Hizzoner into running for a fourth term. They have been persuasive before, convincing Duggan to run as a write-in back in 2013, after he was resigned to spending more time at his cottage after getting kicked off the ballot on a technicality.

Duggan, the master strategist, hasn't said yet whether he'll run for reelection, run for governor, or finally get to spend some time in that cottage rocking chair watching his beloved Michigan Wolverines battle in a newly-reconstituted Big Ten. So, he wouldn't even seem like a flip-flopper (or chicken) if he declares his heart was always set on extending Detroit's resurgence from downtown to its neighborhoods.

Potential disarray in Detroit politics

The line of pols whose ambitions could be thwarted by a Whitmer-to-Washington and Duggan-in-Detroit scenario begins in Detroit City Hall.

The challenge that Duggan running again poses for Sheffield, speaks for itself.

The ripples would likely also rock the boats of At-Large City Councilman Coleman Young Jr. and District 7 Councilman Fred Durhal, who are said to be weighing mayoral candidacies. At-Large Councilwoman Mary Waters who, if she is unsuccessful in her bid to unseat 13th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, may use the team she's building to try and move into the Manoogian Mansion. I'm sure her partner, Sam Riddle, who currently gets his exercise jogging, would love a chance to move his workouts to the pool between the mayoral manse and its boathouse.

Other mayoral aspirants could find their road to the mayor's office blocked, too.

Saunteel Jenkins, CEO of the Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW), would likely see her support in the business community dry up. Some have suggested that Hill Harper, if he fails to win the Democratic nomination to run for U.S. Senate seat opened by Debbie Stabenow's retirement, should run for mayor next. Adam Hollier, whose congressional campaign was derailed by fraudulent petitions, may aim high for his next race, though some supporters are still upset with him for blowing his chance to take out Thanedar. Then there's Thanedar himself, who might consider a four-year mayoral term more comfortable than running every two years against a phalanx of candidates vowing to run him out of Washington so Detroit can restore its legacy of Black representation in the House of Representatives. And, since the mayor's race is in 2025, Thanedar could run without giving up his congressional seat.

Then there are all the people who might run for Detroit City Council if some incumbents get in the mayoral race.

Again, it's too early to rule anything out for Whitmer.

It's not too early to say there are plenty of Democrats who love "Big Gretch," but are secretly hoping she stays right where she is.

M.L. Elrick is a Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter and host of the ML's Soul of Detroit podcast. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on X at @elrick, Facebook at ML Elrick and Instagram at ml_elrick.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer to Washington could topple dominoes from Lansing to Detroit