Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will appear with Democratic presidential hopeful Kirsten Gillibrand during her visit to Metro Detroit next week, her campaign says.

Gillibrand, a U.S. senator for New York, will be in Auburn Hills for a televised town hall forum on MSNBC that will air at 8 p.m. Monday.

On the same day, Gillibrand will join Whitmer for a meet and greet hosted by the group Fems for Dems at Clawson eatery Three Cats Cafe, where Gillibrand will give remarks. Organizers are expecting at least 250 people at the Oakland County event.

Whitmer has said she has no current plans to endorse in the Democratic presidential primary but could eventually weigh in.

"Sen. Gillibrand couldn't be more excited to join Gov. Whitmer for a special event in Oakland County to talk about her vision for the country, and celebrate the amazing gains women made in Michigan in 2018," Gillibrand spokeswoman Rachel Irwin said Thursday.

It will be Gillibrand's first trip to Michigan since she announced her exploratory campaign for president in January.

She is the first candidate to take Whitmer up on her invitation last month for all the Democratic presidential candidates to come to Michigan and make their case to voters.

Gillibrand endorsed Whitmer during her gubernatorial primary last fall and campaigned on her behalf at Wayne State University in Detroit in October 2018.

Whitmer told The Detroit News last month she would not consider joining a presidential ticket if asked.

Gillibrand will be the second high-profile presidential candidate to visit Michigan in the 2020 election cycle after former U.S. Rep. John Delaney of Maryland stopped in Detroit for a small business roundtable last year.

Michigan is among the Midwestern states that could again see a lot of attention from presidential contenders this cycle after playing a crucial role in 2016 when Republican President Donald Trump narrowly won the state.

Tickets for the Fems for Dems event are available on EventBrite.

mburke@detroitnews.com





