Ms. Whitmer predicts the presidential race in her state will be a ‘close election all the way through.’
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said her party should take the independent presidential run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seriously, saying, “We got to earn every single vote.”
During an interview with CNN on Sunday, the Michigan Democrat was asked about recent polls that show Mr. Kennedy with 9 percent support in her state.
“Certainly, Kennedy, or any third party candidate, gives me some concern and is to be taken seriously and that’s why we’re showing up and we’re working hard in all 83 counties to earn the votes of the people,” Ms. Whitmer said.
“We can’t make any assumptions. We got to earn every single vote, and that’s what we’re doing,” she said, while also implying that it may be Republican voters who back Mr. Kennedy in Michigan.
However, the Michigan governor predicted the presidential race in her state will be a “close election all the way through.”
“President Biden has a huge list of accomplishments,” Ms. Whitmer said. “We’re seeing the onshoring of supply chains. We’re seeing the growth of good manufacturing jobs. This is the first president in a long time that has been able to deliver on infrastructure and has a real manufacturing vision that is playing out every day in good-paying jobs.”
Mr. Kennedy has not yet issued a public response to Ms. Whitmer’s comments on Sunday. The Epoch Times contacted his campaign for comment.
A recent polling average released by RealClearPolitics shows that Mr. Kennedy has about 10 percent support nationwide. A Decision Desk HQ analysis shows that in Michigan he has garnered about 6.5 percent as of Sunday.
In April, Mr. Kennedy qualified for the Michigan ballot and the nomination for the Natural Law Party, which was founded in 1992 and advocates for the Transcendental Meditation technique.
“He’s the most qualified candidate in the modern-day history of America,” Doug Dern, chairman of the Natural Law Party, said in a a press release from Mr. Kennedy’s campaign in April. “We welcome Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Shanahan to the party,” he said, referring to Mr. Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan.
Mr. Kennedy, who has said the two-party system in the United States is faulty, is best-known for his criticism of vaccine safety practices, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as his environmental activism. He is also the son of former U.S. attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in June 1968.
Meanwhile, he is not currently on the general election ballot in every state and is still in the process of seeking access to their respective ballots for 2024.
Campaign finance filings recently published show that a super PAC supporting his presidential campaign received $5 million in April from 81-year-old banking heir Timothy Mellon. Mr. Mellon had already given at least $20 million to the Kennedy super PAC.
American Values 2024 ended April with $20.85 million in cash on hand, according to the filing with the Federal Election Commission, after it spent to get Mr. Kennedy on state ballots and other expenses.
Mr. Kennedy’s candidacy has also been bankrolled by Ms. Shanahan. She gave Kennedy’s campaign about $8 million in April, according to the most recent campaign filing. In March she gave $2 million to the campaign.
Ms. Shanahan, the former wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, previously also gave $4 million to American Values 2024, filings show.
In late May, the Libertarian Party rejected Mr. Kennedy as their nominee, instead picking Chase Oliver.
Reuters contributed to this report.