Whitmer’s book prompts speculation

Leads to talk of future presidential campaign

She’s introduced herself to a national audience with regular cable TV appearances and built a robust fundraising network that extends beyond Michigan’s borders. Now, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has a story to tell as she takes on a key campaign role in a battleground state this election year, perhaps with an eye on her own future.

This July, Whitmer’s book will hit shelves across the country. “TRUE GRETCH: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between” promises “an unconventionally honest, personal and funny account of [Whitmer’s] remarkable life and career,” reads a news release from publisher Simon & Schuster.

The book follows Whitmer’s career from the years she spent before serving as a state lawmaker to the challenges she’s faced as governor, including the COVID-19 pandemic and a plot to kidnap her.

“In this moment, our world is thirsty for compassion, empathy, big ideas, and the grit to get (expletive) done,” Whitmer said in a statement included in the Simon & Schuster release. “No matter who you are, or what you hope to achieve, I hope this book will help you find the good and use it to make a difference. I’ll be doing the same alongside you.”

Heading into the 2024 presidential election, Whitmer serves as President Joe Biden’s top campaign surrogate in Michigan. She has launched a fund to raise money to help reelect Biden, securing some of the biggest donations from supporters outside Michigan. For Whitmer, the publication timeline about a month before the Democratic National Convention will help her tap into a large, politically engaged audience interested in her book and perhaps a Whitmer presidency, said John Sellek, CEO of Lansingbased Harbor Strategic Public Affairs.

Publishing a book is a prerequisite for a presidential campaign, said Sellek. “You can’t skip it,” he said.

News of Whitmer’s forthcoming book prompted instantaneous speculation on social media that Whitmer plans to run for president. While Whitmer has said previously she has no interest in ever running for president, she has

left the door open to the possibility in the future in more recent interviews.

“I’m not making plans for 2028 or anything beyond what I’m going to do in these next four years,” Whitmer said in an interview on CNN shortly after the start of her second term as governor.

Adrian Hemond, CEO of the consulting firm Grassroots Midwest in Lansing, said the group text conversations he has with other political consultants were abuzz with Whitmer’s

book news.

“She’s definitely setting herself up for her next move. Running for president is definitely on the table,” he said. But so are other options, Hemond said, such as leading a major reproductive rights organization or making money sitting on corporate boards.

Whitmer plans to donate her net proceeds from the book during her term as governor to the Capital Region Community Foundation, according to Simon & Schuster. The book will publish July 9, 2024. Whitmer will narrate the audiobook.

Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen .