Gov. Whitmer and Democrats flex new power in Michigan
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unleashed a list of progressive priorities in her State of the State speech Wednesday night.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unleashed a list of progressive priorities Wednesday night — proposals that have a greater chance of becoming policy with Democrats controlling all levels of power in the state for the first time in 40 years.
“We spoke with a clear voice in November,” Whitmer said in her annual State of the State speech, which she delivered in person for the first time since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. “We want the ability to raise a family without breaking the bank. We want strong protections for our fundamental rights to vote and control our own bodies.”
Whitmer, whose party took control of the Legislature this year, vowed to further defend abortion rights in a state where voters last year codified them in their constitution after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade.
“Let’s repeal our extreme 1931 law banning abortion,” Whitmer said.
Michigan has emerged as one of the country’s premier electoral battlegrounds, with close presidential races in 2016 and 2020 and a Republican Party that has veered further right in response to former President Donald Trump’s politics. Whitmer, who was on President Joe Biden’s shortlist for vice president, is seen as a rising national star.
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