Whitmer doesn’t say she’s running for president. She doesn’t even hint at it. But she also doesn’t pour cold water on the idea.

“I Have Big Plans for 2026.”

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In her first post, Whitmer writes that she considered waiting to launch her Substack account but decided “maybe I can offer some perspective and maybe even a way forward right now.” She notes that 2026 will mark both her final year as governor and 25 years since she was first sworn into office.

She also said in her post: “I have big plans for 2026, and I want to engage more people in the work we’re going to do.”

Not on the ballot herself in Michigan or elsewhere this year, Whitmer says she plans to spend the election cycle this year helping elect Democrats nationwide and building a “strong bench” of candidates. That coincides with the fact that she is the vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association. So while some speculate that she started the account as a prelude to run for president, others point to her using the platform to help Democrats win in the midterms.

Whatever the case may be, Whitmer is anti-Trump without mentioning his name, saying in the beginning of her first post: “I know everything feels heavy right now. We’re witnessing abuses of power, people getting hurt and even killed, communities becoming less safe, and politicians choosing to inflame tensions. We should not accept any of this.”

The bipartisanship pitch.

Whitmer leans heavily into a bipartisan image, pointing to Michigan’s 2013 Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, when she served in the state House. She notes that she helped deliver Democratic votes to then-Republican Governor Rick Snyder, arguing that the effort put results over partisanship. “Over one million Michiganders have received health care coverage because we did the right thing instead of playing for a scoreboard that doesn’t actually exist,” she said.

Whitmer describes growing up in a bipartisan household where spirited dinner-table debates were loud but grounded in respect. She says those values are missing in today’s politics, arguing too many national leaders operate on an “I win only if you lose” mindset that turns politics into a game and leaves the public exhausted. At its best, she says, politics should be about working together to improve people’s lives.

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At the end, Whitmer urges her readers, “Don’t check out. Don’t let your anger become apathy. Don’t convince yourself that things can’t get better.”