LANSING, Mich. (AP) 鈥� Michigan Gov. on Monday insisted that President Joe Biden can still win her state, a key battleground in the 2024 election, even as many national Democrats question whether Biden should move forward after his .
Whitmer's statement comes as many in her party question whether she could step in for Biden and run against Republican Donald Trump this fall. Whitmer and several other top national Democrats have publicly backed Biden since Thursday's debate.
鈥淚 am proud to support Joe Biden as our nominee and I am behind him 100 percent in the fight to defeat Donald Trump," she said in her statement. 鈥淣ot only do I believe Joe can win Michigan, I know he can because he鈥檚 got the receipts: he鈥檚 lowered health care costs, brought back manufacturing jobs, and is committed to restoring the reproductive freedom women lost under Donald Trump.鈥�
The statement comes after Politico Magazine reported on Monday that Whitmer called Biden campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon on Friday. It cites 鈥渟omeone close to a potential 2028 Whitmer rival for the Democratic presidential nomination鈥� who said Michigan's governor 鈥渉ad phoned O鈥橫alley Dillon with more of an unambiguous SOS: to relay that Michigan, in the wake of the debate, was no longer winnable for Biden.鈥�
An aide to Whitmer, Helen Hare, said that the reported comment was false.
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This story has been corrected to show that Jen O'Malley Dillon is chair of Biden's reelection campaign, not the campaign manager.
Joey Cappelletti, The Associated Press
