For months, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was being considered as former Vice President Joe Biden's running mate. She was considered a front runner because of her rising star status in the Democratic Party. Her Wuhan coronavirus lockdowns – which many in the Democratic Party loved – had ridiculous stipulations, like not being able to purchase "non-essential items," like gardening seeds.
When everything was said and done Biden tapped Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his running mate, even though Whitmer was his first pick.
According to former Obama Senior Advisor David Axelrod, Harris wasn't his top choice. Politics pushed her into the position.
"He reportedly clicked well with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, but she would not have fulfilled the desire of those who prioritized a candidate of color," Axelrod wrote for CNN earlier this year. "Whitmer, a White moderate pick, also would have raised questions among supporters of progressive champion Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, widely viewed after a lifetime of advocacy and a strong campaign for president as a tough, brilliant and capable policymaker. But some also saw Warren as the most polarizing of the potential candidates, who would have been offered by Trump as evidence that the moderate Biden is merely a Trojan Horse for the left."
"In the end, Biden seriously considered others but returned to Harris as the 'do no harm' candidate, unlikely to thrill or outrage many," Axelrod said. "She may not seem the most comfortable fit as a governing partner, a quality Biden said he was seeking, but Harris was viewed as the safest pick to win in November."
Whitmer is apparently thankful she wasn't asked to run with Biden.
"Had you gotten the call and he offered you vice president, Gretchen Esther Whitmer would have said?" a reporter for FOX 2 in Detroit asked.
"Tim, that never even happened so we don't have to go too far down that path," she replied with a laugh. "... This is the God's honest truth: when he called me and asked me to go through the process I was shocked."
Whitmer still didn't answer the question until the reporter pressed her yet again.
"If Joe Biden called and said, 'I need you to be my partner, to be my running mate,' I would have said yes," she explained.
“At the end of the day, you didn’t get it and you weren’t disappointed and you might have been relieved?” the reporter asked.
"There might have been a sigh of relief over here at the governor's residence," the governor admitted with a laugh.
Ultimately, the governor – and her family – were relieved by Biden's decision to tap Harris.