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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a high-ranking Democrat who political pundits see as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, says she does not plan to run for the White House in the next election cycle.
“There’s going to be a strong group of people running for president,” term-limited Whitmer told reporters in Michigan on Thursday. “I won’t be one of them in 2028. I can tell you that.”
Whitmer has long been considered one of the leading members of a large nationally known group of Democrats who may jump into what is expected to be a crowded and competitive field for their party’s presidential nomination in the race to succeed Republican President Donald Trump. The governor’s new comments seem to dispel long-held views about his national ambitions.
HARRIS IS IN PRESIDENTIAL DISTRICT AFTER LEAVING DOOR WIDE OPEN TO 2028
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told reporters Thursday that she does not plan to run for president in 2028. (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)
The governor of the key Great Lakes battleground state drew a lot of attention when he took on Trump’s first term as a vocal critic of his administration and offered a Democratic response to the president’s 2020 State of the Union address.
But during Trump’s second term, Whitmer sought to find policy areas where he and the president could agree. And his image as a fierce critic of Trump took a hit in April of last year when he appeared in the Oval Office with the president. Photos of the governor trying to cover his face with folders quickly went viral and angered some Democrats.
The infamous photo came as the governor was in the White House for a private meeting to push the president on Michigan-specific issues and was led into an impromptu televised news conference where he giggled with reporters. Whitmer later said he did not want his photos taken, and insisted that while he disagreed with much of what Trump said during the news conference, he stayed in the room to speak for his country.
LESS THAN 4 MONTHS INTO TRUMP’S SECOND ENDORSEMENT, THE DEMS ARE ALREADY RELEASING THE 2028 RACE.
THESE DEMOCRATS MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028
President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 9, 2025, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan looks on. (Getty Images)
Whitmer, a former state representative, state senator, and Ingham County prosecuting attorney, was elected governor of Michigan in 2018.
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He made national headlines during his first term as governor and is on former President Joe Biden’s 2020 list of candidates.
Whitmer has also been seen as a potential rival for the White House in the future and speculation is driving him to stand in the presidential primary state of New Hampshire in the summer of 2024, to campaign for former Vice President Kamala Harris, shortly after Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee.
HARRIS, NEWSOM, STIR 2028 TEST FOR DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer campaigns for Vice President Kamala Harris at a house party in Durham, NH, on July 25, 2024. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
The list of Democratic presidential candidates in 2028 includes Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Wes Moore of Maryland, who, like Whitmer, said he is not running for the White House in 2028.
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Other potential contenders include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ro Khanna of California, Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, former ambassador and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who served as White House Chief of Staff and then-President Obama, then-President Obama, and Gina Raimondo, a former two-term governor of Rhode Island who later served as Secretary of Commerce in the Biden administration.
