
Gretchen Whitmer (born 23 August 1971) was Governor of Michigan (D) from 1 January 2019, succeeding Rick Snyder.
Biography
Gretchen Whitmer was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1971, and she became involved with Democratic politics. She served in the State House from 2001 to 2006 and in the State Senate from 2006 to 2015, and she also served as the Ingham County Prosecutor in 2016. In 2018, she ran for Governor of Michigan, and she was able to flip the Republican state with her victory. Her quick response to the COVID-19 pandemic earned her praise from liberals while causing right-wing populist backlash, leading to far-right protests backed by Donald Trump, who encouraged the armed right-wing protesters to "Liberate Michigan". On 8 October 2020, 13 right-wing militiamen from the "Wolverines Watch" were charged in a plot to kidnap Whitmer and try her for "treason" before the election.