Whitmer for president? She ranked among top Democratic 2024 hopefuls in WaPo

Michigan's first-term governor has gained national attention over the past four years

By Steve Neavling

Jul 18, 2022 at 10:53 am

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State of Michigan

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

President Gretchen Whitmer has a ring to it.

The first-term Michigan governor debuted on The Washington Post’s top 10 ranking of potential presidential hopefuls.

Whitmer took the No. 8 slot of possible contenders in the 2024 election.

President Joe Biden was listed first, most likely to the chagrin of many voters. A recent poll showed that only 24% of Democrats voters said the party should renominate him in 2024.

Biden didn’t appear on The Washington Post’s rankings compiled in December 2021 because he was widely considered to be a one-term president.

“He’s still the most likely nominee, and he’s still sending the signals that he truly intends to run again,” the newspaper wrote. “But it’s all looking significantly more tenuous than it was even three months ago.”

Interestingly, Whitmer declined to say whether Biden should run for re-election when NBC News asked her about it last month. In the same interview, Whitmer wouldn’t say whether she’d run for president, but called the idea “flattering.”

Whitmer gained national attention in the summer of 2020 when she was among Biden’s top candidates for vice president. Her profile increased again when she traded barbs with then-President Donald Trump over coronavirus restrictions. And following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, she has become one of the most vocal defenders of abortion rights, routinely appearing on national news broadcasts.

Business Insider also recently listed Whitmer as a potential 2024 presidential contender.

But first, Whitmer is facing a reelection in November.

Whitmer isn’t the only Michigan resident to make The Washington Post's top 10 list. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who recently announced he officially moved to Michigan, ranked No. 2, ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The transportation secretary continues to carve out a potentially attractive space in Democratic politics, quite apart from his Cabinet duties: as the guy able to go on Fox News and combat the right’s talking points in a calm and steady manner,” the newspaper wrote.

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About The Author

Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling is an award-winning investigative journalist who operated Motor City Muckraker, an online news site devoted to exposing abuses of power and holding public officials accountable. Neavling also hosted Muckraker Report on 910AM from September 2017 to July 2018. Before launching Motor City Muckraker,...