Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer met last Sunday evening in Delaware with Joe Biden about possibly serving as his running mate, the first known face-to-face meeting of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in recent weeks with a woman vetted by his team to serve as his vice president, a person familiar with the meeting told CBS News.
The governor traveled round trip from Michigan to Delaware on Sunday evening on a private plane, said the person familiar, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. A second person familiar with the governor’s travels confirmed to CBS News that she traveled to Delaware last Sunday, but did not know the purpose of the visit.
Whitmer, 48, is a first-term governor and former State Senate minority leader and attorney. She won her 2018 race by pledging to “Fix the Damn Roads,” but she has struggled to enact her agenda amid strong opposition from Republicans, who have especially sparred with her in recent months over emergency powers to address the coronavirus pandemic.
Whitmer was a supporter of Biden’s presidential bid, returning a favor for the former Vice President, who campaigned and helped raise money for her 2018 gubernatorial bid.
A Biden campaign spokesman declined to comment. A Whitmer spokesperson said her office doesn’t comment on the governor’s personal schedule.
The Associated Press first reported the news of Whitmer’s travels to Delaware.
News of the meeting with Whitmer came as Biden arrived Friday night at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he has spent some weekends in recent weeks ahead of a busier late August and anticipated fall campaign schedule. Secret Service vehicles and the family dog were spotted outside the dark blue home late Friday.
Bo Erickson and Jack Turman contributed to this report.