Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer Has Two Children and Three Step-Children

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been making headlines in her state for years because of her willingness to get stuff done, and because she's managed to win elections handily in her swing state. All of that attention has meant that Gretchen is a potential frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.

Now, Whitmer is facing scrutiny, and some of that scrutiny is focused on her family and her children. Here's what we know about them.

Whitmer has two daughters and three step-children. She is married to Marc Mallory but had her children with Gary Shrewsbury. The first was born in 2002, and the second was born just 19 months later. Whitmer and Shrewsbury got divorced in 2008, and she married Mallory three years later. Mallory had three children from a previous relationship, and they became Whitmer's stepsons.

As her official biography explains, "Her daughters are a University of Michigan student and a recent University of Michigan graduate. Her three stepsons, Alex, Mason, and Winston all live in Michigan, as well."

Although Whitmer's children are both young women, they entered the political fray with their mother in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Whitmer sat down with her daughters, Sherry and Sydney, to talk about the loss of abortion rights and Sherry's decision to come out as a lesbian. At the time, Sherry said that she was going to go on birth control even though she was gay because she recognized she was still at risk.

“I live on a college campus,” she said. “There are people out there who would force me into conceiving. It’s a scary thought, but I’ve made the decision.”

Whitmer has been open about the fact that she was sexually assaulted when she was a freshman at Michigan State University in 1989. Whitmer said that, even though she wants to be close to her children, she would understand it if they decided to settle out of state if abortion were ever to become illegal in Michigan.

“I want to be here with you,” said Sherry to her mom. “I would really be sad if I couldn’t. If I would have to make that choice.”

"As a parent — not as a governor — I would encourage them to go where they can live their fullest, truest lives," Whitmer added.

It seems, then, that Whitmer and her daughters are unafraid of making their personal lives political, recognizing that the policies acted out in the United States have a direct impact on their lives.

Although Whitmer's kids are too young to have been out campaigning on behalf of their mother, they are both young women who have just come into adulthood, and it seems possible that they could be campaigning for her if she does ultimately seek the presidency. Until then, though, it seems that Whitmer is content to let them lead their own lives, whether the decide to do that in Michigan or somewhere else.