EMILYs List Congratulates Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Advancing to the General Election

For Immediate Release
August 2, 2022 

EMILYs List Congratulates Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Advancing to the General Election in Michigan’s Gubernatorial Election

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, congratulates Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on advancing to the general election to determine who will serve as Michigan’s next governor. EMILYs List President Laphonza Butler released the following statement:

“Gov. Whitmer has already proven that she has what it takes to lead the state of Michigan during challenging times, guiding Michiganders through the pandemic, the all-out attack on our reproductive freedoms, and even threats to her own safety. Her leadership is unparalleled, and as Republican extremists continue to push dangerous abortion bans and restrictions in Michigan, Michiganders need a governor they can trust to champion their rights. EMILYs List knows that Gov. Whitmer is that governor, and we are honored to stand with her as she seeks a second term.”

Gretchen Whitmer is a lifelong Michigander and champion for working families. She began her career as an attorney in private practice, arguing cases in Circuit Court and before the Michigan Public Service Commission. She was first elected to the state House in 2000 to fight for working families. She quickly established a reputation as a problem solver who put her constituents first and was voted by her peers as the most effective Democrat in the House. Whitmer was elected to the Michigan Senate in 2006 and made state history in 2010 as the first woman to lead a party caucus in the Senate. In 2016, she served as the Ingham County prosecutor where she set up a domestic violence unit to coordinate domestic and sexual violence cases within one group of dedicated professionals to advocate for survivors. In 2018 she was elected governor, with the support of the EMILYs List community.

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 159 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.