evidence: Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2019 as the 49th governor of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 and in the Michigan Senate from 2006 to 2015. Whitmer was born and raised in Michigan. She graduated from Forest Hills Central High School, Michigan State University, and the Detroit College of Law. Her political career began in 2000 when she was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives. In 2006, she won a special election to the state senate, serving in that chamber until 2015, and became its first female Democratic leader from 2011 to 2015. In 2013, Whitmer gained national attention for a floor speech during a debate on abortion in which she shared her experience of being sexually assaulted. For six months in 2016, she was the prosecutor for Ingham County. Whitmer was elected governor in 2018, defeating Republican nominee Bill Schuette, the state attorney general. [...] - ^ "Governor Gretchen Whitmer". Democrats. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.