An all-female Democratic ticket is the shake-up America needs | Mike Kelly

In the coming days, Kamala Harris will make a momentous decision. Who will she choose as her vice presidential running mate? My choice: Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan.

Yes, that would be an all-female ticket. Why not?

The Republicans, who can’t seem to get out of their own way, just nominated a presidential ticket with two white guys — in case anyone noticed. No one seems to think that combination is odd. (Just sayin'.)

Democrats have an opportunity to shake up the electoral playbook now that President Joe Biden has announced that he does not plan to run for re-election. But let’s be honest here about another reality: Democrats haven’t exactly been endearing themselves lately to the American electorate.

Yes, Democrats passed a landmark infrastructure bill that will help to fix roads that still seem to have Reagan-era potholes and cracks. But that was in 2021. And far too many of those potholes haven't been filled yet as the money trickles down to various state and local governments.

And yes, Democrats in Congress blunted the so called “red wave” of 2022 — if “blunt” is an accurate description of losing control of the House of Representatives.

But the nagging problem of rising grocery and gasoline prices and the turnstile, catch-and-release security system at the Mexican border for so-called "asylum seekers" hasn’t exactly instilled confidence that the Democrats know what they are doing. Funny how Harris, 59, did not mention this in her first speech on Monday after being anointed as the replacement for 81-year-old Biden.

Democrats could capitalize on some fresh faces

So a major shake-up of presidential politics could come in handy. After Biden’s sad debate performance a month ago, which revealed in shocking ways how aging may have taken a toll on his basic ability to annunciate a complete sentence without tripping over his words, it also wouldn’t hurt to show that Democrats aren’t afraid of a little excitement.

More importantly, a strong argument can be made that Whitmer, who turns 53 the day after Harris’s likely official nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate next month at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, actually may be the most qualified vice presidential candidate anyway on the Democratic bench. Whitmer, for her part, has said in interviews this week that she intends to stay in office in Michigan. Still, she could be a major asset to Harris.

So far, five white Democrats have been singled out as the top vice presidential choices for Harris. All are men.

There is Sen. Mark Kelly, 60, of Arizona, a former astronaut and Gulf War combat fighter pilot who knows how to win in a “purple” state. And four sitting governors: Josh Shapiro, 51, of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear, 46, of Kentucky, J.B. Pritzker, 59, of Illinois and Roy Cooper, 67, of North Carolina.

All five are smart, level-headed and articulate. To say that they are solid candidates for elected positions is an understatement. But they don’t have the kind of in-the-trenches government experience that Whitmer could bring to the vice presidential job.

For nearly a quarter century, Whitmer has held a variety of positions in Michigan state government — since 2019 as the state’s governor.

As governor, she delivered the Democratic response to then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address. A month later, as the COVID-19 virus swept through America and Trump struggled to find a correct and clear path of leadership and talked of possibly injecting bleach into people’s bodies, she emerged as one of the first governors to take the controversial but necessary step of issuing a stay-at-home order for Michigan residents. It was a clear-eyed stance -- indeed, a necessary stance. And it was not received well at first.

A right-wing coalition, partly inspired by conspiracy theorist and purveyor of falsehoods Alex Jones, responded by organizing a protest — with some of the protesters toting guns — at the Michigan state capitol in Lansing.  Another group took Whitmer to court in a failed attempt to overturn her anti-COVID measures. Trump, meanwhile, derided her as “that woman in Michigan.” And, in October 2020, the FBI foiled a plot by an ultra-right group to kidnap Whitmer.

None of these stunts worked. In the end, voters approved of Whitmer’s get-tough approach. She was re-elected with an 11 percent margin of victory — all this, in a so-called “swing” state that is considered tough to win for Democrats but nevertheless a key to any presidential candidate’s victory.

Mike Kelly: J.D. Vance a shrewd pick for VP. Can Trump capitalize on running mate's strengths?

Solving problems? What a concept for American politicians

In what might be called a victory toast last year, Whitmer even drank a beer during a TV interview and declared that politicians ought to “try to solve problems instead of just feeding frenzies and anger.”

Gee, what a concept: solving problems and not feeding frenzies and anger. (Republicans, are you listening?)

I realize that picking two women for the presidential ticket would be unprecedented, especially when American voters have never elected a female president.

But why not this year?

Mike Kelly is an award-winning columnist for NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, as well as the author of three critically acclaimed nonfiction books and a podcast and documentary film producer. A paperback edition with an updated epilogue of his 1995 book, "Color Lines," which chronicles race relations in a small New Jersey town after a police shooting and was called "American journalism at its best" by the Washington Post, was released last year. To get unlimited access to his insightful thoughts on how we live life in the Northeast, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kellym@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Kamala Harris running mate: Case for a female vp