Michigan Gov. Whitmer says she won't run for president in 2028 then backtracks hours later

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MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said Thursday she has “nothing to announce” about a possible 2028 presidential bid, stepping back from her comment hours earlier that she will not run for president after leaving office later this year.

“You know, I never thought I would run for governor, so I guess I should know better than to say any of it. Never say never,” Whitmer said when asked later Thursday about the remarks.

“At this juncture, I’ve got nothing to announce,” Whitmer said during an onstage interview following her annual speech at the Mackinac policy conference.

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. Whitmer is term-limited and will be done after this year.

For months Whitmer had offered only cautious answers about her political future. She seemed to put an end to the speculation during an interview earlier Thursday, telling 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."

But she backtracked later in the day, saying she wanted to “correct the record.” Whitmer said she was answering the “100th question of the morning about it” and said she wasn't making any plans.

“I guess I’ll smile and say, ‘I’m going to stay focused’ and leave it at that for now," Whitmer said.

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 Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin — both considered possible 2028 contenders — also in attendance.

“If there was someone I believed in, I'd be all in,” Slotkin told The Associated Press. “But I'm not taking it off the table because I want to be a part of that next generation of leaders.”