Fri. Oct 11th, 2024

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer applauds as Pennsylvania Gov.Josh Shapiro speaks during a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris on July 29, 2024 in Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hannah Beier/Getty Images)

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is joining fellow Democratic governors on a bus tour next week across the Midwest to talk to voters about the plans Vice President Kamala Harris has for creating jobs and lowering the cost of living for families.

The “Driving Forward” blue wall bus tour is starting off in Wisconsin Monday where Whitmer will join Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. The tour will include special guests such as Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who will join the governors in Green Bay.

Over the course of six days, concluding in Pennsylvania with Gov. Josh Shapiro, Whitmer said she plans to make sure every Midwesterner knows that former President Donald Trump would drive the economy into the ground if given the chance. The best choice for Midwesterners in November is the Harris-Walz ticket, Whitmer said in a statement from her Fight Like Hell PAC.

“Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have lived lives like ours in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Their priority is lowering families’ costs, cutting taxes for the middle class, and creating more good American jobs here at home,” Whitmer said. “Donald Trump is only looking out for himself and his wealthy friends.”

Making note of Project 2025, the 900-plus-page right-wing blueprint outlining plans for Trump’s second term, Whitmer said Trump is seeking unchecked power that would trash economic opportunities for the working class.

Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania are all part of the blue wall, which is made of more than a dozen states that have voted Democratic in presidential elections since at least 1992. All three states flipped for Trump in 2016 and flipped again for Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020. All three states are being heavily wooed by Harris and Trump in 2024.

For Pennsylvania, Trump’s chaos is unwelcome and gets in the way of the progress happening in Democratic states, Shapiro said in a statement from the Fight Like Hell PAC.

“Democratic Governors know how to get stuff done and deliver real results – we’ve cut taxes and reduced costs for our constituents, invested in public safety, opened up the doors of opportunity, and protected our fundamental rights and freedoms,” Shapiro said. “We need Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the White House because they’ll be our partners in that work to expand economic opportunity and advance real freedom, bringing people together behind common sense solutions for the American people.”

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and X.

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