How the deeply divided state of Michigan became a feminist success story

The Midwestern state saw some of the most aggressive anti-lockdown protests and was even home to an FBI-solved kidnapping plot of Governer Gretchen Whitmer. Yet, it has also drawn admiring glances for its leadership, as well as comparisons to New Zealand and Germany

Trump supporters bang on the windows of a polling station as votes are recounted (AFP via Getty Images)

As the Republican Party top brass continues to fuel conspiracy theories, stoke divisions, and cause general mayhem in Michigan, the state’s Democratic women politicians have emerged as models of competence, strength, and leadership. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, while weathering vitriolic and even violent attacks from the far-right extremists in their state, have earned national admiration. 

Michigan is a deeply divided state, with little daylight between Trump supporters and everyone else, making it a locus of some of the most contentious political activity this year. In the early months of the pandemic, Gov. Whitmer was among the first to impose strict and decisive lockdown measures, and was in fact the first governor to release demographic data indicating the disparity between Black and white coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths — data which has been vital to public understanding of the pandemic. 

Whitmer was also the governor who faced perhaps the most extreme backlash from her constituents. In the spring, large crowds of protesters, many of them heavily armed with assault rifles and other pseudo-military paraphernalia, gathered at the state capitol in Lansing to demonstrate against the lockdown. Meanwhile, President Trump repeatedly singled out Whitmer in his attacks against “Blue State” governors. Right-wing extremism in the state went so far as actual, serious plots to kidnap and assassinate her — plots which were later foiled by the FBI. As she brought in further restrictions this year to respond to rising Covid cases, Whitmer was the subject of even more Republican ire, with an adviser to President Trump even encouraging people to “rise up” and revolt against her orders. It’s safe to say that her job is never made easy by the opposition.

Ironically, it was in part Whitmer’s measured, candid, and firm response to such behavior that earned her a place in the upper echelons of Democratic leadership, a shortlist spot for Biden’s vice president, and even a theme song called “Big Gretch.”

The rise of Whitmer is just one example of many in which Michigan has become something of an exemplar of female political leadership in America. The gender parity gap data for 2020 places Michigan in 7th place in the nation for gender equity in government, and while 40 percent is still a far cry from true parity, it is miles better than some of its neighboring Midwestern states. 

But women in Michigan politics were rising in national status even before the pandemic. The “Blue Wave” of 2018 saw record numbers of women elected to the House of Representatives, including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, member of “The Squad” — which also includes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley. As a member of this high-profile foursome, Tlaib is one of the country’s most vocal and influential advocates for progressive politics, and in many ways represents the future of the Democratic Party. 

Though far to the left of President-elect Joe Biden politically, Tlaib’s efforts to drive the vote in her home district and elect Biden in the state were an important push from the party’s left flank, which had been seen as a less reliable voting bloc than more moderate or centrist Democrats. In the end, Biden handily flipped the state of Michigan from red back to blue, beating Trump by a whopping 155,629 votes. 

Which introduces a third woman Democratic leader in Michigan who has been weathering yet another unprecedented assault on her office — Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Even before the Trump campaign began lobbing lawsuit after lawsuit alleging widespread voter fraud in Michigan — for which there is no evidence — Benson facilitated record voter turnout including record absentee ballots, resulting in a remarkably secure and smooth election. In the wake of Trump’s decisive defeat in the state, none of the Republican incumbent’s allegations of fraud, lawsuits, or even the stunning decision by two Republican canvassers to refuse to certify the election results held any water due to Benson’s excellent handling. 

Donald Trump’s Republican party has not shied away from misogynistic dog-whistling or even open sexism, and the areas of Michigan especially supportive of the outgoing president have taken up this mantle with noisy fervor. And while the state has made national headlines for the unrest among Trump supporters and among the most tumultuous anti-Democratic activism, it has at the same time become a paragon of female leadership and competent governance of the kind countries like Germany and New Zealand have been praised for. In fact, it is the rare state whose most prominent political figures are almost all women. 

Other notable women leaders in the state include longtime Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow, Representative Elissa Slotkin — who flipped a once-staunchly red district — and young newcomer Representative Mari Manoogian. 

Michigan may indeed be a nexus of ugly right-wing extremism, unrest, racism, and conspiracy theories. But it is also a nexus of high-profile female leadership providing the country with a much-needed sense of stability in turbulent times, as well as forward-looking leaders and inspiration for future structural change in the United States system of government.