Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is polling sixth among seven potential Democratic presidential candidates for 2028, currently garnering just 3.2% support.
A 2028 Democratic Primary Polling Average at the poll tracking site “RacetotheWH” looked at five national polls conducted this year to track top Democrats who may seek the party’s nomination for president in four years, and it’s a sad showing for the Great Lakes governor.
Whitmer’s 3.2% support trails failed 2024 candidate Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 36 percentage points, as well as others including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
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“RacetotheWH is tracking the latest Presidential Primary polls for the 2028 election,” according to the site. “We combine them into a weighted polling average, for both the national polling and the polling in each state.”
Five polls from Echelon Insights, Morning Consult, and Emerson College involving 6,365 likely or registered voters since January put Harris in the lead for 2028 with support from 39.5% of Democrats, followed by Newsom at 7.4%, Buttigieg at 6.2%, Shapiro at 4.5%, Walz at 4.4%, and Whitmer at 3.2%, just ahead of New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 2.8%.
Others polling in single digits include New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
Among the polls included in the average, Whitmer performed best in a survey of 3,997 registered voters conducted by Morning Consult in May, when she polled at 5%. In each of three polls conducted by Emerson College, Morning Consult, and Echelon Insights since the November presidential election, Whitmer was at 3%.
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Michigan’s 49th governor released a book this year, and jet set across the country as Harris’ campaign co-chair in 2024, all indications that Big Gretch is working to expand her national exposure in the run up to 2028.
But Democrats are reassessing their presidential choices in the wake of Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s victories in two out of the last three races, and some suggest that reality spells trouble for Whitmer’s political ambitions.
“Trump beat two women – Harris this time, Hillary Clinton before – and many Democrats partly blame sexism. That could make them reluctant to pick another women, even one as compelling as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan,” wrote Frank Bruni, columnist for The New York Times. “The party’s struggles with working-class voters could point it toward someone positioned to attract them.”
In Michigan, Whitmer’s policies over her two terms have had a major impact on those working-class voters, and not in a good way.
Since Whitmer took office, nearly 200,000 more Michiganders are unable to afford a basic survival budget that includes housing, food, transportation, child care, and other necessities, despite most working full time.
A whopping 41% of Michiganders are now struggling paycheck to paycheck, though that percentage is more than half in 11 counties and nearly 80% in several cities, according to a United for ALICE report.
Other research shows inflation adjusted household income has declined by 3% under Whitmer, third-grade reading proficiency has dropped to a record low, the state has the highest auto insurance rates in the nation, unemployment is rising faster than the national average, inflation is rampant in Detroit, health insurance costs are set to skyrocket, abortions are at record highs, and Michiganders are “the most financially distressed people in the country.”