LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – Governor Gretchen Whitmer was having trouble lining up enough votes to pass her tax cut package including $180 for every taxpayer in the state.

Ultimately, she was able to get it passed, but the challenge was trying to get enough members of her own party to vote yes.

There’s an old saying: when you have the votes, you vote. when you don’t, you talk.

Last November, just after the Democrats took control of the House and Senate, the governor knew the day would come when she could not get all Democrats to say yes to her agenda.

At 10 a.m. Thursday it became clear the governor did not have 56 votes to pass her tax cut package, and so the back room lobbying moved into high gear.

At one time, five of the governor’s lieutenants, including her main lobbyist Curtis Hertel, were on the floor trying to convince Democrats to say yes.

The governor joined in the lobbying effort making personal phone calls, and in one case making a personal plea to a moderate Republican to vote yes.

But House GOP leader Matt Hall told his members unless the governor agreed to roll back the income tax rate, his side would not give her any votes. The governor did not budge.

Then finally right around 3 p.m., the talking stopped and the voting began without any debate. Republicans were very upset.

The Republicans will continue to gripe about the Democrats blocking any debate and will try to kill the governor’s plan when it moves to the Senate next week, which the Republican’s could not do Thursday.