Gretchen Whitmer Not Running in 2028: What Democratic Primary Polls Show

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she is not planning to run for president in 2028 during remarks at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Thursday, potentially shaking up what is likely to be a crowded race in the Democratic primary.

Whitmer has been viewed as a formidable Democratic candidate due to her strong showings in both the 2018 and 2022 Michigan gubernatorial races. Democrats believed her record of winning a Midwestern battleground would make her a strong general election candidate against a Republican such as Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio. She's among the first 2028 contenders to make clear she does not plan to run, as the primary field could begin to take shape in the coming months.

"There will be a robust group of people running for president," Whitmer told Detroit news station WJBK. "I will not be one of them in 2028. I can tell you that."

Newsweek reached out to Whitmer's team via email for further comment.

Gretchen Whitmer's 2028 Polling

Whitmer, despite garnering some hype, struggled to break through in the polls. Although polling can shift by the time the primary kicks off, early polling does have key implications for candidates. Donors and voters use polls to gauge whether a candidate is viable, so the numbers matter for their ability to fundraise and garner media attention.

Here is a look at where Whitmer stood in the latest 2028 Democratic primary polls:

• Overton Insights (May 16-20, 1,377 voters): 0 percent
• McLaughlin & Associates (May 12-18, 1,000 voters): 2 percent
• Echelon Insights (May 14-18, 501 likely voters): 4 percent
• Lake Research Partners (May 6-11, 800 likely voters): 3 percent
• AtlasIntel (May 4-7): 1 percent

Whitmer faced some criticism from Democrats after meeting with President Donald Trump after a photo showing her covering her face with folders in the Oval Office went viral last year. That decision to meet with Trump was seen as potentially alienating some Democratic primary voters-but others defended her, noting that it makes sense for governors to work with a president regardless of partisan differences.

What Do Polls Show About the 2028 Primary?

Most Democratic voters are leaning toward other potential candidates. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and California Governor Gavin Newsom have been leading polls.

But several other Democrats, including Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, have been floated as potential candidates. Here is a look at who is leading the latest polls

Emerson College

• Buttigieg: 18 percent
• Newsom: 16 percent
• Ocasio-Cortez: 11 percent
• Shapiro: 10 percent
• Harris: 10 percent
• Beshear: 9 percent
• Pritzker: 4 percent
• Representative Ro Khanna: 1 percent
• Don't know: 18 percent
• Someone else: 4 percent

Overton Insights

• Buttigieg: 16 percent
• Newsom: 13 percent
• Ocasio-Cortez: 12 percent
• Harris: 9 percent
• Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders: 9 percent
• Shapiro: 8 percent
• Booker: 7 percent
• Kelly: 4 percent
• Beshear: 3 percent
• Maryland Governor Wes Moore: 2 percent
• Pritzker: 1 percent
• Whitmer: 0 percent
• Don't know: 14 percent
• Someone else: 2 percent

McLaughlin & Associates

• Harris: 28 percent
• Newsom: 16 percent
• Buttigieg: 9 percent
• Ocasio-Cortez: 7 percent
• Shapiro: 6 percent
• Booker: 5 percent
• Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper: 2 percent
• Emanuel: 2 percent
• Pritzker: 2 percent
• Minnesota Governor Tim Walz: 2 percent
• Whitmer: 2 percent
• Other candidates: 4 percent
• Don't know: 18 percent

Who Is Running for President? What Other 2028 Contenders Have Said

Some 2028 Democrats haven't ruled out running. Harris, who has traveled to states like Michigan and South Carolina in recent months, suggested she could run again without making a formal announcement.

"I might. I am thinking about it," she told Reverend Al Sharpton last month after he asked whether she planned to run for president in 2028 during the National Action Network's annual convention. Harris noted that she "served for four years being a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States."

"I spent countless hours in my West Wing office footsteps away from the Oval Office. I spent countless hours in the Oval Office and the Situation Room. I know what the job is, and I know what it requires," she said.

Newsom discussed the possibility of running in a June 2025 interview with The Wall Street Journal.

"I’m not thinking about running, but it’s a path that I could see unfold," he said.

Ocasio-Cortez addressed presidential speculation in a conversation with David Axelrod, a former adviser to former President Barack Obama, earlier in May.

“My ambition is to change this country," she said. "Presidents come and go. Senate, House seats, elected officials come and go. But single-payer healthcare is forever. A living wage is forever, workers’ rights are forever, women’s rights, all of that, and so anyways…to a finer point to your question is that when you aren’t attached, right, when you haven’t been like fantasizing about being this or that since the time you were 7 years old, um, it is tremendously liberating.”

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 10:02 AM.