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As a mother, litigator and lawmaker, Gretchen Whitmer is focused on keeping families safe from violent criminals and predators; protecting consumers from getting ripped off; and making government more transparent and accountable. During these difficult economic times, she is working to make Michigan a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.

When the budget mess in Lansing threatened to take troopers off our streets, Whitmer pushed a plan that would have kept them on the job by slashing politicians' office budgets. She has opposed plans that rob our communities of public safety resources and shortchange our law enforcement agencies. She has also authored legislation and led efforts to better track dangerous sex offenders, protect children from online predators, and to criminalize nursing home abuse of our seniors. Her commitment to crime prevention earned her the 2003 “Legislator of the Year” honor by the Michigan Sheriff’s Association.

Gretchen Whitmer understands that Michigan consumers can't afford to keep getting ripped off, whether it be by greedy special interests or by elected officials. That's why she fought to crack down on massive predatory mortgage lending scams and is working to outlaw those who want to exploit victims of foreclosure through fraudulent “rescue” services. She remains the Senate’s strongest advocate for ending Michigan’s unfair one-of-a-kind law that gives big drug companies total immunity when the products they make injures or even kills someone. And she authored the bill that would put teeth back in Michigan's Consumer Protection Act so scam artists won't get away with taking advantage of cash-strapped customers and businesses that play by the rules won't have a disadvantage against those who don't.

Gretchen knows you have to lead by example, so she stood up to her out-of-touch colleagues and demanded slashing legislative pay and benefits. She has given back portions of her pay and donated her monthly expense account to causes around the state in an effort to expose the need for reforms. Her plan would end lifetime health care benefits for Legislators and cut their pay for when they don't show up for work. She would also impose strict financial disclosure for politicians and increase transparency to avoid conflicts of interest and public corruption.

Born and raised in Michigan, Gretchen attended public schools in East Lansing and Grand Rapids, graduating from Forest Hills Central High School. She earned both her undergraduate degree in Communications and her law degree from Michigan State University.

As an attorney in private practice, Gretchen was a corporate litigator at Dickinson Wright, one of Michigan’s oldest and most respected law firms. She specialized in regulatory and administrative law, arguing in both Circuit Court and before the Michigan Public Service Commission. She was called to public service in 2000, and has been representing Mid-Michigan in the Legislature as both State Representative and State Senator ever since.