Best Candidates for Working People 2018: Gretchen Whitmer

This November’s elections are shaping up to be among the most consequential in recent U.S. history. Throughout the summer and fall, we are going to take a look at the best candidates for working people. Today we feature Michigan gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer.

Here are some of the key reasons why Whitmer is one of the best candidates for working people in 2018:

• She has a record of standing up for Michigan’s working people. She helped pass the Healthy Michigan law to expand Medicaid to cover 680,000 more Michiganders, including children, seniors and working-class families. She also fought back against Gov. Rick Snyder when he attacked workers and proposed education cuts.

• When Snyder locked the people out of the state capitol so Republicans could pass “right to work” legislation, Whitmer not only joined working people in protest, she led the protests from her office.

• She is an independent political voice and is willing to work with Republicans when it benefits working people. She worked with Republicans on expanding Medicaid through Healthy Michigan. She also negotiated a higher minimum wage and cost-of-living adjustments for Michigan’s most vulnerable working people.

• Whitmer released a detailed plan to reinvest in Michigan’s infrastructure and create thousands of jobs. The plan focuses on important tasks such as fixing crumbling roads, ensuring access to clean and safe drinking water, and expanding broadband access to the entire state.

• Her policies would build a Michigan economy that works for everyone, not just the privileged few. Whitmer will do this by investing more in skills and job training programs that help working people get quality jobs.

• As part of a robust plan to support veterans, she wants to focus on making sure that Michigan’s returning service members can transition to good-paying jobs, fast-tracking certification programs and reducing barriers to opening small businesses.

• The Michigan AFL-CIO endorses Whitmer “because she’s a strong progressive leader who’s always had the backs of working families, and she’s the only candidate in this race with a real plan to fix the damn roads and create more good-paying jobs for Michigan.”

These are just some of the reasons why Gretchen Whitmer is one of the best candidates for working people in 2018. To learn more, visit her website.