She was one of the first to appear on Mr. Biden’s “Here’s the Deal” podcast and is a national co-chair for his campaign. Still, many Michigan Democrats don’t want Ms. Whitmer to leave the state while she is still grappling with the outbreak, which has hit Michigan particularly hard, with more than 96,000 cases and 6,500 deaths as of Monday. And it has devastated the state economy, driving the unemployment rate to 14.8 percent, one of the highest in the country, as of June, the latest data available. “Selfishly, we need her here. There is plenty of time for her to climb those mountains and I’m sure she will.”Several observers also questioned how much she could help Mr. Biden win Michigan, a battleground state that Mr. Trump won by less than 11,000 votes over Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Source: New York Times August 10, 2020 20:37 UTC