Democrats hope to retain the governorship in Michigan, a battleground state where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited, but Democratic leaders have launched their own candidacies and the left has begun searching for an alternative standard-bearer. .
Three-term Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who had been seen as highly likely to run for governor for some time, reportedly surprised state political circles by announcing he would run as an independent. are.
“I went to Lansing and built relationships with Democrats and Republicans. We brought the neighborhood out of the darkness of burned-out streetlights and lit up the entire city to national standards…and Detroit’s unemployment rate. “We’ve brought the economy down to its lowest level in more than 30 years in years,” Duggan said in his campaign launch video.
“The current system forces people to choose the side that finds the solution. We want to see if we can change that.”
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Riverside Park offers views of the Detroit skyline and Ambassador Bridge. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
He struck a similar tone in recent remarks to reporters.
In his final year as mayor, Duggan said he wanted to “build a working relationship with the Trump administration,” something he said he had done the previous term with fellow Motor City native HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
He also told The Associated Press that he believes many Americans are “tired of both parties and tired of the system. So I want to give people a choice.”
With this choice, Democrats reportedly pivoted to a prominent Indiana native who recently moved north to her husband’s home state.
At an event with autoworkers in Detroit, a man loudly asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about the Lions, not his home state Colts. The Associated Press explained that the Traverse City newcomer’s ties to the Michiganders could be a potential challenge if he were to run.
Another man at the event praised Buttigieg’s willingness to be one of the “few” politicians to speak to both liberal and conservative media audiences.
Buttigieg said he would not make a formal political decision about “how I can help” until his current boss, President Biden, leaves office, but he has been contacted by several Michigan Democrats about joining the race. It is said that he is receiving
But Duggan’s announcement was met with derision from another potential Democratic nominee, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
“In times like this, we don’t run away from the party, we’re there to solve the problem,” Benson told FOX-2, adding that he is considering throwing his hat in the ring. .
Great Lakes Democratic strategist Andrew Feldman told The Associated Press that people are “shocked and angry” that Duggan has avoided the Democratic label.
“Many see this as a serious situation where Mike Duggan could hand the Governor’s Mansion into Republican hands and reverse years of progress,” he said.
The left is divided between Mr. Duggan’s independents and the jockeys who fill the Democratic column on the ballot, but the Republican race appears wide open.
“You know, (20)26 is always in the back of my mind, but right now I’m focused on (20)24,” said conservative media host Tudor Dixon, a 2022 Republican candidate. He spoke just before the presidential election. When asked about running again.
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Perry Johnson, a Michigan businessman and quality control expert, is a potential 2024 Republican candidate. (AP, file)
Other names that have surfaced in Michigan news outlets include businessman Perry Johnson, who briefly ran for president on the Republican ticket in 2024, businessman Kevin Linke, and several current Republican senators. Examples include.
Divided Michigan results in 2024, increasing election uncertainty as Michigan voters chose both Republican President-elect Trump and Democratic Sen.-elect Elissa Slotkin from top-tier races. It got even higher.
As for Whitmer, reportedly Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gavin Newsom of California, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Wes Moore of Maryland and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois. , along with other governors such as Minnesota’s Tim Tim, are considered the front-runners for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. Waltz.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Michigan Republican Party, the Michigan Democratic Party and Mr. Buttigieg’s office for comment.
