Gretchen Whitmer flexes national muscle with 2024 House endorsements

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) used her expanding national profile Tuesday to issue several 2024 endorsements for various Democratic House candidates in competitive races.

The Michigan governor, who is considered one to watch in 2028 when the Democratic Party will be seeking a new presidential candidate, endorsed a slate of eight Democratic House representatives across Minnesota, Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Nevada in what she said is her first round of endorsements.

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“I’m so excited to introduce our first round of Fight Like Hell PAC-endorsed candidates! These current members of the U.S. House will continue to fight like hell for our freedoms and kitchen table issues. Let’s get them reelected,” she wrote Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.

Whitmer unveiled her support for Reps. Angie Craig (D-MN), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Emilia Sykes (D-OH), Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Susan Wild (D-PA), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), and Steven Horsford (D-NV).

Nearly all the candidates she endorsed are in races deemed competitive in 2024 by the Cook Political Report.

“It’s not surprising that all of Whitmer’s endorsements are among the most extreme House Democrats in Congress,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement. “They are nothing more than a rubber-stamp for the failed policies that are hurting Americans across the country.”

However, one Democratic candidate Whitmer can no longer back is her own sister, Liz Whitmer Gereghty, who dropped her congressional bid against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) last month. Lawler is now expected to face former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) in the fall.

Whitmer issued her endorsements through her PAC, Fight Like Hell, which she launched in June. The PAC has increasingly waded into national politics, particularly abortion access, as it solicits donations on Whitmer’s behalf.

“Today I’m launching Fight Like Hell PAC to support candidates who fight like hell for working people and their fundamental freedoms,” the governor wrote upon announcing the PAC’s formation. “It’s time to build on our momentum and support candidates who will deliver real, meaningful change.”

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Despite encouragement from some and speculation from others over a Whitmer challenge to President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary, the governor has dismissed the idea and fully supported Biden’s 2024 bid. However, she hasn’t shut the door on running for the office in the future.

Establishing a national profile and influence ahead of any such run is particularly necessary because she would likely compete against other Democratic rising stars, such as Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Wes Moore (D-MD), and Josh Shapiro (D-PA).