Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has launched a federal political action committee that will allow the Democrat to carve out a visible and supportive role in the 2024 races.
The Fight Like Hell PAC – named after Whitmer rallying cry last year to preserve abortion rights in his state – plans to raise funds to boost President Joe Biden in his bid for re-election, as well as House and Senate candidates, according to details shared with NBC News.
Whitmer, 51, is considered a rising national star and presidential prospect, having won a second term by a commanding margin last year. His efforts on behalf of Democrats in 2024 could create goodwill for his own future projects. Biden is famous for turning his campaign activity for candidates in the 2018 midterm elections into support for his bid for the White House in 2020.
“Now we must do everything we can to maintain the momentum of the candidates fighting for ordinary Americans and the will of the majority,” Whitmer said. — who came under aggressive attack from former President Donald Trump and other Republicans who disagreed with his shutdown policy during the Covid pandemic — said Monday in a statement released by the PAC. “As MAGA extremists do what they can to undermine our progress, I pledge to strengthen our efforts to elect partners at the federal level who will rise up and fight like hell for working families, people elders and children across the country.”
The PAC registered with the Federal Election Commission last week, gaining notice from the Michigan media, though Whitmer and other officials involved declined to provide details of the mission. On Monday, PAC officials said Whitmer would raise funds using its “extensive network of small donors.”
In a video accompanying Monday’s launch, Whitmer speaks of “a time when our fight must reach beyond Michigan and reach across the country.”
“That’s why we’re launching Fight Like Hell PAC – to bring Michigan’s fight for basic freedoms into the backyards of our fans across the country,” adds Whitmer.
Whitmer’s rise began shortly after winning her first term in 2018, ending eight years as GOP governor in Michigan and reaffirming Democratic strength in a state Trump won in 2016. She endorsed Biden ahead of his state’s 2020 primary, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was still vying for the nomination. When Biden campaigned with her the following week, he presented himself as a “bridge” to Whitmer and other young leaders. She would end up breaking his shortlist for vice president.
At the start of the pandemic, Whitmer’s criticism of the federal response angered Trump. He called her “Michigan’s wife” and tweeted an all-caps call to “FREE MICHIGAN.” Later in 2020, the FBI scuttled a plot to kidnap Whitmer by men angry at her Covid closures.
Whitmer’s decisive re-election win, along with a Democratic takeover of the Michigan Legislature for the first time in 40 years, has fueled speculation about his presidential prospects in 2028 — or sooner, had Biden had decided not to run. And when Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., announced her intention to retire after her term ends next year, Whitmer quickly dismissed the suggestion that she would run for the seat and said that she intended to serve her full four-year term as governor. . Fight Like Hell also figures to play an important role in this contest.
“We will fight like hell for the Democrats to hold the White House in 2024,” Whitmer says in the video. “We will fight like hell for Democrats to occupy Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat in 2024. And we will fight like hell for every candidate who shares our values.”
In the statement announcing the PAC, officials pointed out that “the way it is structured means that money raised in the account could not be spent on a federal race where Governor Whitmer is the nominee.”
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com