Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: "I'm not going to run for President in 2024"

LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - In the week since Gretchen Whitmer was reelected as governor of Michigan, the Democrat has been dogged by rumors and speculation that she could - and even WOULD - run for President in 2024. She's doing what she can to put that idea to rest.

The governor told the Detroit Free Press that "I intend" to serve four years as governor. Then she told Bridge Magazine "I plan" to serve four years.

Words are important and choosing them carefully matters. But intending or planning to do something is not the same as saying you dont want to do it.

"I don't want to run for President," Whitmer told FOX 2's Tim Skubick.

Even that's not bulletproof because she could still run even though she never wanted to.

The story seems to be attached to the governor as the New York Times ranked her third in a list of potential candidates for President.

Whitmer calls all that a distraction, and here for the very first time, she attempts to stop the speculation with this definitive statement with no wiggle room.

"I'm not going to run for President in 2024. Period," Whitmer said.

She said she means it for the 2024 race but is not slamming the door closed for a run later in the decade.

The governor also said CNN should stay focused on her Michigan job 'for now.'

"I can tell you, period, I am not running for anything in the next two or four years," she said.

That's as clear as you'll probably hear an answer to that question and Whitmer said maybe this will be the last time she talks about it.

But...probably not.