Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer provides an update about COVID-19 at a Nov. 12 press conference. COURTESY OF Michigan Executive Office of the governor.
—President-elect Joseph R. Biden nominated Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as the Vice Chair for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Biden announced his recommendations for DNC leadership in a press release on Jan. 14. Whitmer served as co-chair for the Biden campaign and was named to the Presidential Inaugural Committee. At one point she was being considered for Biden's running mate.
Whitmer was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2000 and elected to the Michigan Senate in 2006 as the first woman to serve as the Senate Democratic Leader. Gov. Whitmer won all 83 counties in the primaries of the 2018 gubernatorial election and won the general election with the highest number of votes any governor has received in Michigan.
“Since taking office, Gov. Whitmer has led the state of Michigan with grit and compassion,” Biden said in the press release. Whitmer’s term will end on Dec. 31, 2022.
Biden also nominated Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for the Vice Chair of Civic Engagement and Voter Protection. This nomination comes as a surprise because Mayor Bottoms declined a cabinet position in the Biden Administration.
“The Mayor’s focus remains on the people of Atlanta and the great state of Georgia,” Bottoms’ Senior Advisor Rashad Taylor said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Jaime Harrison was nominated as Chair for the DNC. Harrison served as an Associate Chair of the DNC in 2017. He gained national attention after he ran for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2020. Harrison received 44.2% of the votes in South Carolina.
Other Biden-Harris nominees for DNC leadership include:
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Nominee for Vice Chair
Rep. Filemon Vela Jr., Nominee for Vice Chair
Jason Rae, Nominee for Secretary
Virginia McGregor, Nominee for Treasurer
Chris Korge, Nominee for Finance Chair
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