Whitmer Rules Out a Run for President in 2028. Here’s What Other Potential Contenders Have Said

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, long rumored as a possible Democratic presidential candidate, has said she will not make a bid for the White House in 2028.

“I think there will be a robust group of people running for President,” the Democratic governor told WJBK-TV. “I will not be one of them in 2028.”

Even with more than two years left to go before the next presidential election, speculation about who could run is everywhere. Several politicians have publicly flirted with the idea of running for the office in recent months. And polls are capturing a developing picture of who the top possible contenders could be.

Here’s what they’ve said about a possible presidential bid.

Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg, who made an unsuccessful run for the White House in the 2020 election before serving as Transportation Secretary under former President Joe Biden, has been widely speculated as a potential 2028 candidate.

A survey released by Emerson College Polling on Thursday identified Buttigieg as the top potential contender in a hypothetical 2028 Democratic presidential primary. The survey found that 18% of likely Democratic primary voters would support Buttigieg, up two points since February.

Buttigieg has not explicitly confirmed his intent to run for the White House again, but he has hinted at the idea. At the National Action Network conference in April, Rev. Al Sharpton reminded Buttigieg that they ate lunch at Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem while Buttigieg was in the midst of his 2020 presidential campaign.

“Just so my calendar is clear, should I be reserving a table at Sylvia’s? Are you going to run again?” Sharpton asked.

“You save me a seat, I’ll be there,” Buttigieg said.

Gavin Newsom

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is barred from running for his current office again because of term limits, has bolstered his national profile in recent months as he’s publicly battled with President Donald Trump. He is widely considered to be a strong contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, and while he hasn’t confirmed his intent to run, he has been flirting with the idea of launching a bid for the White House.

In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning this past fall, Newsom was asked whether he was seriously considering running for President after the 2026 midterm elections ended.

“Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,” Newsom said in response. He added, though, that a final decision was still years away.

Thursday’s Emerson College Polling survey found that Newsom garnered the second highest support in a hypothetical Democratic primary. But the survey also found that support for him has fallen in recent months, from 25% in August to 16% this month.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

While backing for a potential Newsom bid appears to have dropped since last summer, the support for another widely speculated future Democratic candidate—Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York—seems to be growing.

Ocasio-Cortez ranked third in a hypothetical 2028 Democratic presidential primary in the Thursday survey from Emerson College Polling, earning 11% of support from likely voters. That marks a seven-point increase from last August.

The Congresswoman, who was elected to the House in 2018, has become a popular leader among young progressive Democrats. She has not said that she plans to launch a bid for the White House, nor has she explicitly ruled it out. When asked earlier this month about the speculation over whether she will run in the 2028 presidential election, she replied that some people “assume that my ambition is a title or a seat. And my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country. And Presidents come and go, Senate, House seats, elected officials come and go.”

Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who emerged as one of the leading candidates to become former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in 2024 before she ultimately selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is also among the list of prominent Democrats who have teased the possibility of running for President in the 2028 election. When Sharpton asked Shapiro last month about if he was considering running in the 2028 presidential election, Shapiro replied, “We have, I think, some incredibly talented folks in the Democratic Party. And what I think we are poised to do, if we have this national referendum in the midterms, and if people show up in record numbers, we have an opportunity to have a real debate within our party about what we stand for, about what our affirmative vision is.”

“That is a debate that our party hasn’t had for a good long while, and that debate is not only going to help the Democratic party; I think it’s going to be healthy for this country,” he continued. “And what I can tell you for sure is that I want to be a part of that debate.”

According to the Emerson College Polling survey released this week, Shapiro has the support of about 10% likely voters in the Democratic primary, up from 5% last August.

Kamala Harris

Harris, who launched an unsuccessful presidential bid against Trump in the 2024 election, has not ruled out running for the White House again. When asked in February if she would launch another campaign, Harris indicated that she was open to the possibility.

“I haven’t decided,” she said at the time. “I might.”

About 10% of likely Democratic primary voters said they would back Harris in the Emerson College Polling survey released on Thursday. That’s a 3-point decrease from February.

If she does decide to run, it would be her third consecutive bid for President; she was one of many Democrats in a crowded primary race for the party’s presidential nomination in the 2020 election, though she later suspended her campaign and ultimately became Biden’s running mate.

Andy Beshear

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who was also rumored to be a possible running mate for Harris in the 2024 election, has indicated that he is open to the idea of running for President in the 2028 election. When asked by an MS NOW journalist earlier this month if he was comfortable being considered a contender in the race, he replied that he was.

“I’m comfortable in that,” he said, though he added, “I haven’t made any final decision.”

Support for a possible Beshear presidential run has increased slightly over the past few months, according to Emerson College Polling; last August, he only had the support of about 2% of likely voters, but that figure has since increased to 9% in the most recent survey.

The survey released on Thursday also found, though, that many likely voters aren’t sure which of the possible Democratic contenders would earn their support; 18% said they were undecided.

J.D. Vance

Vice President J.D. Vance has dismissed speculation that he plans to run for President in 2028, but he is still considered to be a top potential contender for the Republican nomination. Many view him as the future leader of the MAGA movement and the party’s likely successor to Trump’s legacy. According to Emerson College Polling, about 36% of likely Republican primary voters said in May that they would back Vance—though that is a significant drop from the 52% who said they would support him in February.

Earlier this month, Vance seemed to brush off suggestions that he was planning to launch a presidential bid.

“I’m not a potential future candidate,” he told reporters. “I’m a Vice President, and I really like my job.”

Marco Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is widely seen as the other top potential contender for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2028 election. Support for a possible Rubio campaign grew over the past several months, from 9% last August to 35% this month, according to Emerson College Polling.