Gretchen Whitmer

Early life and education

Whitmer was born in 1971 in Lansing, Michigan to parents, Richard and Sherry Whitmer, who were both lawyers. Her father served as head of the state's Department of Commerce under Governor William Milliken, and Sherry worked as an assistant attorney general under Attorney General Frank Kelley. Raised primarily in nearby East Lansing, she graduated from Forest Hills Central High School just outside of Grand Rapids. She has a brother and sister, whom as child would play with her siblings, swimming in the Thornapple River, fishing, and climbing around Lake Michigan. She received a BA in Communications from Michigan State University in 1993 and a JD from Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University in 1998.

Political career

Whitmer was first elected to the State Senate in March 2006 after serving as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 2000 to 2006. In the Senate she served on the following committees: Government Operations (ranking Democrat), Judiciary, Health Policy, Agriculture, Legislative Council and the Senate Fiscal Agency Board of Governors. As a State Representative, Whitmer served for four years as the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

On November 5, 2010, her Democratic colleagues unanimously chose Whitmer to be the Senate Democratic Leader, making her the first woman to lead a party caucus in the Senate.

It was announced on May 11, 2016, that the judges of Michigan's 30th Judicial Circuit Court had unanimously selected Whitmer to serve the remaining six months of the term of outgoing Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III. Dunnings was arrested March 14, 2016, and charged with 11 counts of involvement with a prostitute and four counts of willful neglect of duty. In a letter dated March 29, 2016, Dunnings announced he would resign effective July 2. Whitmer's term expired on December 31, 2016.

Whitmer was administered the oath of office as prosecutor by Ingham County Circuit Court Chief Judge Janelle Lawless in a ceremony on June 21, 2016, and said her top priorities in her six months would be to determine if any other officials in the prosecutor's office knew about Dunnings' alleged crimes and to change how the office handles domestic violence and sexual assault cases.

Following taking office, Whitmer issued an 11-page report on July 22, 2016, on whether Dunnings alleged criminal activity affected cases handled by the office. The report concluded that employees "were never asked to compromise a case or look the other way" and that she had "...full confidence that any problem that had existed in this office, left with Mr. Dunnings."

Statewide Political Aspirations

Whitmer has long been considered a candidate for statewide office. In October 2009 she filed paperwork to run for the position of Michigan Attorney General, to succeed term-limited Incumbent Republican Mike Cox, but she suspended her campaign in January 2010, citing family concerns and was instead re-elected to the state Senate in November 2010.

In 2013, facing being term-limited from the Michigan Senate, Whitmer was considered a top contender for the Democratic nomination to take on Republican incumbent Gov. Rick Snyder. In January 2013, Whitmer announced she would not run for governor.

2018 Michigan Gubernatorial Elecion

On January 3, 2017, Whitmer announced she would run in the 2018 Michigan gubernatorial race.

Personal life

Whitmer currently lives in East Lansing, Michigan. She and her husband Marc Mallory have five children.