Gretchen Whitmer: podcast appearances and interviews

Gretchen Esther Whitmer, born on August 23, 1971, is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party and has a long history of public service in Michigan. Whitmer's political career includes service in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 and in the Michigan Senate from 2006 to 2015. She was the first female Democratic leader of the Michigan Senate, serving from 2011 to 2015. Whitmer was born in Lansing and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She earned a bachelor's degree in communication from Michigan State University in 1993 and a Juris Doctor degree in 1998. She began her political career in 2000 when she was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives, and in 2006, she won a special election to the state senate. In 2013, she gained national attention for a speech during a debate on abortion, in which she shared her experience of being sexually assaulted. Additionally, Whitmer served as the prosecutor for Ingham County for six months in 2016. As governor, she has focused on healthcare and infrastructure legislation. In February 2020, she was chosen to deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address. Her tenure has included addressing security threats, such as thwarting a kidnapping plot by a far-right militia group in October 2020. From January 2021 to February 2025, she served as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. Whitmer was reelected as governor in 2022, defeating Republican candidate Tudor Dixon.