Michigan gubernatorial candidates could include a wide range of Republican and Democratic figures. Bridge file photos.

by Simon D. Schuster (Bridge Michigan)

With the dust barely settled on the 2024 election, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Wednesday he won’t run for a fourth term in 2025, accelerating speculation about a possible 2026 gubernatorial run.

Duggan is just one in a long list of candidates already positioning themselves for potential runs to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, including some of Michigan’s most senior elected officials in both major political parties.

In a press event announcing he won’t seek reelection in Detroit, Duggan focused his comments on his tenure leading Michigan’s largest city, adding, “I’ll talk about my future some weeks in the future.”

But the mayor also touted a story his political team has already begun to share statewide, highlighting his efforts to tear down abandoned homes, build recreation centers and attract talent.

“I really believe Michigan’s greatest export is not cars right now, it’s our young people,” Duggan said. “And the city of Detroit is taking the lead in creating a community where the young talent wants to stay.”

Bridge Detroit first reported Duggan allies have created a nonprofit — often referred to as a “dark money” group — called Put Progress First to tout Duggan’s potential as a statewide leader. It can serve as a financial vehicle to independently support Duggan’s gubernatorial campaign and fundraise for that purpose long before he announces any candidacy.

Duggan has a long track record in Detroit, from shepherding the city through bankruptcy and toward the economic upswing it’s now experiencing. One particular point of pride for Duggen is the reversal in the city’s population, which increased last year for the first time in decades.

“The hatred and division is coming from the fact we don’t take the time to get to know each other, to listen to each other,” Duggan said in his remarks, positioning himself as a unifier. “That’s true in Lansing, that’s true in Washington.”

None of this is a surprise to the political professionals paid to help officials position themselves for consequential campaigns, even though the gubernatorial primaries are nearly 21 months away.

“Very strategic politicians like Mike Duggan who’ve had a lot of success do not wait until the last minute to start planning for these things,” said consultant John Sellek, who helped run Republican nominee Bill Schuette’s 2018 campaign. “A lot of wheels are already in motion.”

At the same time, Sellek noted, exploring a campaign is far different than actually building one.

“That’s a flash in the pan,” he said. “Then you’ve got to do the grinding work of fundraising and meeting people.”

Here is a look at some of the other potential 2026 gubernatorial candidates.

Democrats

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson gained national prominence after the 2020 election as baseless claims of widespread election fraud engulfed Michigan. She defended the integrity of the state’s electoral process, spearheaded reforms and called for new ethics rules in a state plagued by public corruption scandals.

She received a lot of recognition for the work, including a Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian award, with a citation commending Benson’s “exemplary public service to advance free and fair elections.”

Benson would be the “best choice” for Democrats, according to longtime GOP consultant Dave Forsmark, who was one of four political observers who cited her as a top contender should she jump in the race.

Two representatives for Benson did not respond to inquiries from Bridge Wednesday.

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, a Detroit resident, has spent eight years as Whitmer’s No. 2 in Lansing and has had a more prominent role the past two years as president of the Democratic-controlled state Senate.

“People try to pigeonhole him into running for mayor, that’s not what he wants,” said longtime Detroit political consultant Adolph Mongo. “I don’t blame him. He’s sitting there one office away from the governor.”

“But that too has some issues,” Mongo added, noting the last lieutenant governor to successfully win the top job was Bill Milliken in 1970, but he was already serving as acting governor because George Romney had resigned to join the Nixon administration.

Last year, Gilchrist reportedly told Gongwer Michigan he wasn’t interested in running for Detroit mayor, but left the door open to a gubernatorial campaign.

Gilchrist was relatively new to politics when Whitmer chose him as her running mate in 2018. He had unsuccessfully challenged Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey the prior year.

While Gilchrist has not made his intentions public, it could make “a hell of a lot more sense” for him to run for Detroit mayor, said Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist with Grassroots Midwest in Lansing.

“I think he’d be in a decent position to run for mayor, particularly if he was able to enjoy the support of some of the governor’s political machine,” Hemond added.

Pete Buttigieg, a former presidential candidate and current U.S. secretary of transportation has also invited enduring speculation about his political future, particularly in Michigan, where he moved in 2022.

Buttigieg hasn’t denied interest in a potential gubernatorial run, recently telling the Associated Press he would decide “how to make myself useful” after last week’s presidential election, repeating a well-worn phrase of his.

But Buttigieg has political liabilities, including being attached to an unpopular presidential administration and, perhaps more importantly, shallow roots in Michigan.

While his husband Chasten Buttigieg grew up in Michigan, Buttigieg only moved to the Traverse City area with his family a little more than two years ago. His 2020 presidential run was largely built around his track record as mayor of his hometown: South Bend, Indiana.

Amid all the speculation, only one other Democrat has directly expressed an interest in the state’s top job. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, confirmed to Bridge Wednesday she was exploring a gubernatorial run.

McMorrow was first elected to the state Senate in 2018 but flew into the national spotlight in 2022 with an impassioned 5-minute speech on the Senate floor rebutting an opponent’s culture wars attacks.

“I want every child to feel seen, heard and supported, not marginalized and targeted because they are not straight, white and Christian,” McMorrow said in the speech. “We cannot let hateful people tell you otherwise to scapegoat and deflect from the fact that they are not doing anything to address the real issues that impact people’s lives.”

McMorrow’s profile skyrocketed after the speech went viral. She did national media circuits, has a forthcoming book and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August.

Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson has also hinted he has interest in running for governor, saying in 2023 he would “never turn down opportunities to help people” and, like McMorrow, spoke at this year’s Democratic National Convention.

Swanson has touted the criminal justice reforms he’s pursued around Flint and grabbed the national spotlight in 2020 by marching with Black Lives Matter activists calling for an end to police violence.

Other possibilities include Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel and House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, who is not leading Democrats in the next legislative session.

Republicans

Parsing out who could be leading contenders for Republicans, consultant Sellek noted, “is just way more messy.”

In conversations about likely Republican recruits, the state’s congressional delegation regularly came up, though none have made any overt overtures signaling their interest in the role.

Sellek had previously mentioned how U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain’s location and wealth could make her a strong contender, but McClain was just elected to lead the House Republican conference in Congress, a position she might be loath to give up to pursue statewide office.

U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, hasn’t publicly expressed interest in the position but is often mentioned in GOP circles as a top recruit for the election, including by Forsmark, the longtime Republican consultant. James lost races for the U.S. Senate twice, in 2018 and 2020, years when Democrats performed well.

“It’s a guy with a statewide profile, he’s been in Congress for a couple of terms,” Forsmark said. “So what if he lost a couple of statewide races?”

James, who won reelection in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District earlier this month, was a fixture at President-elect Donald Trump’s rallies in Michigan and has seemingly won Trump’s favor — a valuable asset in a contested primary.

State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, has also been mentioned as a potential gubernatorial candidate. He also served in the state House and as Michigan Lottery commissioner. He’s touted his work on auto insurance reforms and moves to block Whitmer’s 2019 gas tax proposal.

Nesbitt, Sellek said, is “very well connected amongst” wealthy conservative donors in west Michigan and is “pretty well regarded as a strategic mind.”

Nesbitt hasn’t closed the door on a gubernatorial campaign either, telling a Detroit newspaper in June that, “It’s in the conversation. I might want to talk to my wife first.”

In a Wednesday statement, Nesbitt told Bridge he is focused on stopping Democratic bills in the lame-duck session. “There will be time to have these discussions in the future with my family on how best to serve the people of Michigan,” he said.

There may be some deja vu in 2026 as Tudor Dixon and Kevin Rinke, both prior Republicans gubernatorial candidates, have both alluded to the possibility of trying for the role a second time.

Dixon, a conservative media personality, beat Rinke in the 2022 Republican primary by nearly 200,000 votes, taking about 41% of the vote, only to be defeated by Whitmer that November by more than 10 percentage points.

In the ensuing years, Dixon has remained in the spotlight through her media appearances, hosting her own podcast and maintaining a semi-regular presence on Fox News, Newsmax and at Trump rallies.

In early October of this year, Dixon linked to an early 2026 poll of GOP candidates that had her and James tied for first – behind only “not sure” – on social media, writing “it is going to take a lot of work to repair the damage of Gretchen Whitmer’s reign.”

Like Dixon, Rinke started a podcast and has become active on social media.

A spokesperson for Dixon didn’t respond when asked if she has further political aspirations, nor did Rinke return calls about his future plans.

Other names that have swirled in political circles include another former gubernatorial candidate, Garrett Soldano, Michigan Republican Party chair Pete Hoekstra and former US Rep. Peter Meijer, of Grand Rapids, who earned Trump’s enmity with a vote to impeach him in 2021.

This article is being republished through a syndication agreement with Bridge Michigan. Bridge Michigan is Michigan’s largest nonprofit news service and one of the nation’s leading and largest nonprofit civic news providers. Their coverage is nonpartisan, fact-based, and data-driven. Find them online at https://www.bridgemi.com/.