Ambivalence or strategy? Whitmer retreats from 2028 spotlight

Driving the news: Eager to get an edge in the wide-open 2028 field, potential Democratic hopefuls have spent much of this year hopping across national media, spending big to build digital followings, weighing in on debates, hiring experienced operatives and traveling to early primary states.

• Whitmer has done little of that since last spring.

Zoom in: She hasn't ramped up her staff — her political team remains small with mostly Michigan experience. She's spending less on digital messaging than many other potential rivals, and she's doing much less national media.

• Whitmer privately has told people she feels obligated to focus on Michigan through the end of her term rather than take more steps for a presidential campaign. (Her second term ends in January 2027, and she can't run again.)
• Publicly and privately she's said that she's keeping her options open, but many supporters and allies told Axios they're no longer sure she has the fire in the belly for a White House run.
• As she begins her final year as governor, some Whitmer aides have contemplated looking for new jobs because they haven't got a signal to plan for anything after her term ends.

The other side: Whitmer's pollster John Anzalone, who has worked on several presidential campaigns, played down questions about the governor's intentions — and polls suggesting California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the leading 2028 contender.

• "Gavin Newsom is gonna be no further ahead come January 2027 than anyone else because he put out videos in 2025 that got clicks," Anzalone said.
• "If you decide that your priority is running for president, you lose sight of both your elected position and also the presidential race."

Longtime Democratic strategist Jennifer Palmieri said Whitmer "doesn't have to be the darling of 2025 to win in 2028."

• "To defeat MAGA in 2028 ... the 2028 nominee needs a solid record of proving they can make democracy deliver. She's got a record of that and is one of the best natural athletes in the field."

Zoom in: Whitmer hasn't done as much 2028 campaign activity as others, but she has traveled to New Jersey, Virginia, Florida and Wisconsin.

• She also bolstered her foreign policy credentials with trips to Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Bahrain, Australia, the U.K., and Ireland.

Even so, compared to other potential presidential contenders, Whitmer hasn't done much to tout herself.

• Asked about 2028, she told an interviewer in Canada last month: "I don't know if I need to be the main character in the next chapter, but I want to have a hand in writing it, and I think I've got an important vantage point as the governor of an important swing state."
• In a recent podcast about Michigan's finances, the interviewer asked Whitmer if she could beat Newsom? Whitmer demurred: "In Michigan? Yeah. I can beat anyone in Michigan."

• A Whitmer political aide told Axios that the governor's "laser focus on her state is what people need right now in the midst of such economic uncertainty, not politicians jockeying for their next job."

Some Democrats, however, have sensed recently that Whitmer doesn't want her low-key approach to 2028 to be mistaken as taking herself out of the running.

• A senior Michigan Democrat told Axios: "She is not taking herself out. I think it's wishful thinking on behalf of some Democrats."
• Weeks after her remarks in Canada, Whitmer told Bloomberg News: "I can't rule anything out at this juncture."

Between the lines: Many Democratic officials, citing losses by Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, believe that America still isn't ready for a woman president.

• Former First Lady Michelle Obama publicly articulated this view this month: "We got a lot of growing up to do," she said. "And there's still … a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman, and we saw it" in the last election.
• Some, however, believe this attitude is defeatist and doesn't give Americans enough credit.

Flashback: Whitmer's low-key approach in recent months has surprised many Democrats in part because she appeared eager to enter the national fray at the beginning of the second Trump administration.

• Five days before President Trump's inauguration in January, Whitmer made a splashy speech at the Detroit Auto Show, where she made a point of saying she would work with anyone, including Trump.
• "I will always seek collaboration first," she said. "I won't go looking for fights, but I won't back down from them either."

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