Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer isn’t letting her party chair’s public feud with former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan get in the way of complimenting the job he did as mayor of Detroit.
“Well you know what, Duggan did a good job as mayor here,” Whitmer told the Michigan Chronicle during a media scrum after her annual address at the auto conference. “I am a Democrat, I’ll be supporting the Democratic nominee for governor. But Duggan and I worked well together.”
The compliment came after Duggan has said recently he supports Whitmer’s bipartisan approach to governing since the election of President Donald Trump in 2024.
Whitmer made appeals to conservatives last year including trips to the White House and a positive public relationship with the president.
Duggan told CNN in September last year that Whitmer’s approach to working with Trump has saved thousands of Michigan jobs. Whitmer credited the White House in her efforts to bring a major investment to a Macomb County Air Force base.
It’s a stark change from the relationship the president and governor held a few years ago.
During his first term, Trump helped turn Whitmer into a national brand after Democratic supporters took his “That woman from Michigan” comments and made them their own.
The governor said the president’s contentious language and rhetoric contributed to the kidnapping attempt against her.
“Just last week, the president of the United States stood before the American people and refused to condemn white supremacists and hate groups, like these two Michigan militia groups,” Whitmer said after President Trump told the Proud Boys to “Stand back and stand by” while debating former President Joe Biden in October, 2020.
Duggan has been criticized by Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel for taking money from Republican donors and for not being critical of Trump. Duggan’s independent campaign has taken aim at both sides of the political aisle, even as Democrats say Republican leaders are operating in bad faith and far outside the limits of the law.
“I think this campaign has shown that it has zero movement and zero real grassroots support throughout the state,” Hertel said during a virtual media roundtable earlier this month. “I think it’s going to be a problem when it comes to getting on the ballot and I think it’s going to be a problem when there isn’t anyone to actually do the work of knocking doors and talking to voters.”
During a virtual press conference of his own, Duggan referenced Democrats attacking Whitmer for not being hard enough on Trump, saying he won’t let the line of attack bother him.
“For a guy who doesn’t think I can win, he sure does spend a lot of time talking about me,” Duggan said of Hertel, a former Mid-Michigan state senator.
Whitmer also complimented new Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, the first woman to lead the state’s largest city, who she says will become a partner to the state.
“I’m really excited about Mayor Sheffield,” Whitmer said. “I’ve had a number of conversations with her over the years, but certainly very recently as well I think that she’s going to be a great leader for the city of Detroit. We need to do what we can do keep this region strong and healthy and moving forward to greater opportunities.”
On Thursday at the auto show, Whitmer also announced she signed an executive order to study the use of a natural form of hydrogen gas that could be used as a clean energy source.
The governor could end her tenure this year with the most favorable poll numbers of any Michigan governor since George Romney, according to pollster Richard Czuba.
In a new poll, 60% of participants said they approved of Whitmer’s job performance, while 38% disapproved.
The Detroit News and WDIV/Channel 4 this week published a new telephone survey of 600 likely general election voters. For the Michigan governor’s race, the poll showed U.S. Rep. John James highest at 32%, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson at 32% and Duggan at 26%.
Czuba told The News he expects the race to replace term-limited Gov. Whitmer to be a close one, with or without Duggan.
