Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she won’t run for president in 2028

2028 electionMichigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she won’t run for president in 2028“There will be a robust group of people running for president,” Whitmer said Thursday, adding, “I will not be one of them in 2028, I can tell you that.”Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 28, 2026, 10:53 AM EDTBy Alexandra MarquezMichigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday said that she does not plan to run for president in 2028, rebuffing assumptions that she would join what’s expected to be a crowded Democratic primary race.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“There will be a robust group of people running for president,” Whitmer told Fox 2 Detroit in an interview Thursday, adding, “I will not be one of them in 2028, I can tell you that.”The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from NBC News.Whitmer’s remarks come as she nears the end of her second term, which will wrap up at the end of this year. Because of term limits, she cannot run for a third term as governor.The governor — and more than a dozen other high-profile Democrats — has been widely discussed as a potential 2028 contender.A 2025 trip to Washington, though, stoked anger from other Democrats after she gave a speech identifying common ground with President Donald Trump and later appeared with him in the Oval Office. A now-infamous photo of the governor covering her face with folders in the Oval Office went viral after the meeting.And almost a year ago, as Whitmer and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., were fueling speculation that two women from the battleground state could run for president in 2028, two Democratic operatives close to the governor seemed skeptical that she would go through with a presidential campaign.The potential 2028 field includes a handful of other Democrats, including governors, like Maryla...