Whitmer raised more than $2 million last year for effort to re-elect Biden

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's reputation extends beyond Michigan's border. And in an election year in which her name won't appear on the ballot, Whitmer has put her fundraising prowess to the test with her new Fight Like Hell PAC to support Democratic candidates this fall.

Whitmer launched the fundraising effort last summer.

"We will fight like hell for Democrats to hold the White House in 2024. We will fight like hell for Democrats to hold Michigan's seat in the U.S. Senate in 2024. And we will fight like hell for every candidate who shares our values," Whitmer said in a video announcing her fundraising campaign.

Since its launch, Whitmer's Fight Like Hell PAC has raised more than $2 million, according to its latest filing with the Federal Election Commission covering fundraising through the end of last year. It closed out the year with over $1.3 million cash on hand.

"We launched Fight Like Hell PAC to bring Michigan's fight for basic freedoms to our grassroots supporters' backyards across the entire country," Whitmer said in a statement. "I am thrilled that people who want to see their rights protected, their costs lowered, and jobs created in their communities stepped up to help us ensure that President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats up and down the ticket win this November."

In addition to backing Biden's campaign, Whitmer has endorsed several Democratic congressional candidates to help them flip the U.S. House of Representatives.

Her campaign spent a total of $647,041 this year, much of it on operating expenditures like consultants, travel and credit card processing.

So far in Michigan, Whitmer's PAC has contributed $2,300 to U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, and $1,000 to Curtis Hertel's campaign to represent the 7th congressional district. She also donated to U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee's, D-Flint Township, committee before he announced he won't seek re-election and her sister's congressional campaign in New York before she also ended her bid. She made her biggest contribution to Biden's re-election effort with a $47,900 check.

Among the notable donors to Whitmer's PAC were Illinois Gov. Jay Pritzker, philanthropist Melinda French Gates and Sex and the City director Michael Patrick King.

But the vast majority of donations to Whitmer's Fight Like Hell PAC were under $100, according to the PAC's communications consultant Helen Hare who said in an email that the contributions signaled "tremendous grassroots strength from Gov. Whitmer's supporters in Michigan and across the country."

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Whitmer recently spent the days around the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision which had guaranteed a national right to abortion for decades rallying voters to come out to defend abortion rights this fall, an issue she has tied to Biden's re-election. She has warned that GOP victories this fall would open the door to a national abortion ban.

Whitmer sees abortion rights motivating voters and recently suggested that Biden should put more focus on the issue in a recent interview on Face the Nation.

Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Biden's could receive boost in Michigan from Whitmer PAC