Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered her eighth and final State of the State Address Wednesday night.

The Governor delivered her 2026 State of the State Address in front of a joint session of the Michigan Legislature. She outlined literacy, housing, and health care affordability as her top priorities in 2026. Whitmer further highlighted a strong record of bi-partisan progress on kitchen-table issues amid national economic uncertainty and political division.

Whitmer shared the story of Michigan’s progress over the past seven years amidst rising economic uncertainty and escalating political division at the national level. She commented “We are building a Michigan for all by delivering on the kitchen-table issues that make a real difference in people’s lives. Right now, families and businesses are dealing with high costs and economic uncertainty as our national politics remain divided. Michiganders can continue to set an example this year by working together to help every child read, build more housing, and protect access to quality, affordable health care. Let’s focus on these tangible issues in 2026 and continue moving Michigan forward.”

Whitmer said in Michigan, there’s a lot to be proud of – noting that wages and GDP are up; crime and overdose deaths are down; PreK, school meals, and community college all are free; taxes on retirement, tips, overtime, and Social Security are gone; they’ve fixed more roads, built more homes, and replaced more lead pipes than ever before; and more people moved in to Michigan from other states than out for the first time since the early 90s.

Whitmer further commented:
“Still, people are nervous about the national economy. While your paycheck may have grown, the cost of everything else has too. Many middle class families tread water, struggle to pay the bills, find good jobs, and get ahead. If you’re young, it can be hard to find a job that pays well or a home you can afford. Tariffs have jacked up prices, costing families an average of $1,000 bucks last year. Businesses of all sizes are facing higher costs and massive uncertainty too. Last year, America had its worst manufacturing trade deficit ever while China clocked their highest trade surplus ever—$1.2 trillion. I’m hopeful that last week’s Supreme Court decision will force Congress and the President to work out a more strategic trade policy. As everyone reels from national uncertainty, WE must stay focused on growing Michigan’s economy.”

Toward the end of her speech, Whitmer expressed:

“Right now, it can be hard to stay positive. It’s frustrating to just stay afloat financially—let alone get ahead. Ugly rhetoric and rising partisanship, especially at the national level, has made it tempting to tune out and turn away. Social media platforms that were supposed to bring us together have made us distrust and, in some cases, despise our fellow Americans.

These forces—economic uncertainty, political division, and toxic algorithms—work in a vicious cycle to try and tell us that empathy is weakness… that kindness is gullibility… that sincerity is for suckers. But that’s wrong.

We’re all searching for a way forward, and the answer has been in front of us the whole time. It’s us. No matter what comes our way, we will always have a way through it because we will always have each other.

Through a destructive pandemic, devastating floods, deep freezes, and deadly shootings… I’ve seen that tough times don’t last, but tough people do. We’ve all been tested over the past seven years, but we’ve always come out stronger and we always will. There’s no problem we’ve faced that we cannot fix. That’s just who we are”.

Links to the Governor’s video speech, and remarks prepared for delivery are provided.