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By Jordan King
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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has given Vice President Kamala Harris advice on how to win in her battleground state.
She told Harris to focus on fundamental issues like abortion and reproductive rights and "make a seat at the table for people who maybe aren't traditionally sitting at that table."
Michigan is one of several swing states that could determine the outcome of November's election. Donald Trump narrowly won the state in 2016, but President Joe Biden won in 2020 by just 154,000 votes.
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Speaking on the 9 to 5ish with theSkimm podcast on Wednesday, Whitmer said: "One of the things that I think is so crucial is, like I said, seeing the humanity in people—showing up, listening, empowering voices. When we have reproductive rights hanging by a thread in this country, it is so crucial that we are uplifting women's voices and medical voices as well—in this debate.
"This next election is going to have profound consequences for all of us, but especially for younger voters, especially for those of us who thought some of these rights had been enshrined in law, [but] are now very much at risk.
"Now, one third of women live in a state where they don't have the ability to make their own decisions about their body and their healthcare. That's not acceptable and I think that's something that's really important and, frankly, helps us pull more people into the conversation."
Political scientist Erik C. Nisbet, who is a professor of policy analysis and communication at Northwestern University, had similar advice for the Democrats.
He told Newsweek: "The party needs to mobilize different constituencies around different issues—whether it's issues of around abortion or other types of things that are motivating to individuals."
Nisbet called the topic of women's reproductive rights and abortion one of the several "cultural battleground issues," which he said could also include Obamacare.
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On her strategy heading into her election, Whitmer said: "I did roundtables all across Michigan before the last election. Michigan is a swing state, it is a close state, and I won by almost 11 points because we had reproductive rights on the ballot. Another [reason] is because we showed up and we listened and we empowered people.
"I sat across the table from so many women who said: 'I'm a Republican, I did not vote for you, but I'm out knocking doors for you this time around, because you're the only one fighting for my daughter's right.'
"And I think that's powerful—we should be able to find some common ground on these fundamentals. And I know that, as a pragmatic leader, Vice President Harris is going to make a seat at the table for people who maybe aren't traditionally sitting at that table. That's how we build momentum and movement, and I think that's so crucial."
Donald Trump's policy on abortion is to let states decide, something his running mate JD Vance has had to shift his position on to support it. He was previously open about wanting a nationwide ban on abortion, as he said on the podcast What's Left? in January 2022.
The Ohio senator has since told Fox News' Sean Hannity: "My view is that Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, and his views on abortion are going to be the views that dominate this party and drive this party forward.
"Alabama's going to make a different decision from California. That is a reasonable thing. And that's how I think we build some bridges and have some respect for one another."
While Trump is still be in the lead in some recent battleground state polls, Biden's withdrawal has seen the race tighten between Harris and the Republican in some of them.
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