(WXMI) — President Joe Biden announced Monday he plans to withdraw from his reelection bid, and many lawmakers are endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place.
Democrats are largely in favor of Harris stepping in as their party’s presidential candidate, including six of seven Michigan members of Congress; Rashida Tlaib has not yet released a public statement on the matter.
Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow both endorsed Harris.
FOX 17 spoke with Peters Monday afternoon on why Harris’s success hinges on endorsement from Michigan’s lawmakers.
“There's no question Michigan is at the center of the universe when it comes to the presidential race,” says Peters. “In this country, I think it's safe to say that it is impossible to be president of the United States if you don't win Michigan. So this is ground zero. … We're going to see the candidates here. Often, people are going to be able to see a very clear contrast between those two candidates. And so it's going to be incumbent on every Michigander to get out, vote, make sure their voices heard and understand the voice of people in Michigan is now louder than basically any other state in the country.”
We also talked to Michigan GOP Chair Pete Hoekstra about Harris, who voiced his criticism for the overall Biden administration. He had this to say when asked about his thoughts on Michigan’s political role:
“If you like politics, you live in Michigan, the next four months are going to be awesome,” says Hoekstra. “If you don't like politics, you don't like campaigns, you know, go to some little corner of the UP and shut out the world for the next four months and you will be just fine.”
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