Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was hailed as a rising star at the start of the pandemic, so much so that her name was thrown around as a potential running mate for Joe Biden. But her praise was never warranted, and that is made all the more apparent by Michigan’s failed response.

Michigan’s hospitalization rate is now the highest that it has been since the beginning of the pandemic. The state also has the 18th-highest death rate, and deaths are climbing. What’s more, Michigan has a lower percentage of adults vaccinated (65.8%) than Florida (72.7%) and Texas (68%) — those backward GOP states that were condemned as science-deniers spreading COVID-19 across the country.