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Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan put to rest speculation about a potential 2028 U.S. presidential bid, saying Thursday that she will not join what is expected to be a crowded primary field after leaving office at the end of this year.
Whitmer has long been viewed by some Democrats as a possible White House contender after her decisive election victories in the closely contested state that Republican Donald Trump has carried twice in presidential votes. For months, however, Whitmer had offered only cautious answers about her political future.
She delivered her clearest response yet in an interview Thursday with Fox 2 Detroit.
“I think there will be a robust group of people running for president. I will not be one of them in 2028,” Whitmer said.
Her comments came during Michigan’s annual Mackinac policy conference, where Whitmer is set to be honoured and deliver remarks later Thursday.
Whitmer has reached the two-term limit as governor, and the Republicans and Democrats will settle on their candidates in a primary held in August.
‘A lot of gas in the tank’
Whitmer has previously said she plans to take time before deciding on her next move politically.
“I don’t know that I’ll put my name on the ballot again. I’m just not sure,” Whitmer said at an April breakfast in Detroit.
“But I also am 54 years old. I got a lot of gas in the tank.”
The Mackinac conference has become a hub of presidential speculation, with former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin — both considered possible 2028 contenders — also in attendance.
Whitmer’s moves the past year have been intensely followed for signs about her potential future as a national candidate. She has criticized Trump’s tariff-heavy economic policies as negatively impacting Michigan’s auto industry, but also raised eyebrows by warmly embracing the president when he visited the state last year.
Trump blasted Whitmer and a handful of other governors in 2020 over their COVID-19 lockdowns.
Whitmer joins Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in quashing speculation about a 2028 presidential campaign. Former vice-president Kamala Harris, who had a brief presidential bid in 2020 and was the Democratic nominee who lost to Trump four years later, said in an interview last month that she is “thinking about” a third campaign.
At the national level, Michigan will also be one of the most watched U.S. Senate campaigns, with Democrat Gary Peters announcing he is stepping down after two terms in Washington.
At the state level, Whitmer’s secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, is aiming to succeed her as governor.
