Chris Swanson brings 'boundless energy' to Michigan governor run. He may need more

Chris Swanson is betting union appeals and relentless energy can fuel an upset in Michigan governor race
Despite some endorsements, the Genesee County sheriff trails Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson badly in Democratic primary polls
With the primary approaching, Swanson faces a shrinking window to turn energy and enthusiasm into votes

SAGINAW — In early June, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Swanson arrived alone to a candidate meet-and-greet here in the parking lot of UA Local 85, a union in the skilled trades.

“Solidarity means loyalty,” Swanson told attendees at the cookout. The 1,300-member union had endorsed him more than a year ago, just days after he launched his campaign, but Swanson was back again.

“Trades, teachers, teachers, nurses — anyone who signed a contract and a card that said, ‘I pay union dues because I believe in the working class’ — thank you so much.”

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Swanson, the sheriff of Genesee County, also moonlights as a motivational speaker, and brings that ebullience to his campaign events. He used his stump speech to extoll unity and union power — not defined policy positions — and his raspy voice neared a yell by the conclusion. The union members, who already knew him, were quickly on their feet cheering.

US Senate candidate Haley Stevens, who had appeared with a retinue of campaign staff, quipped it was “really nice to be in Chris Swanson country.” She received some polite applause.

Swanson, 53, is pinning his long-shot gubernatorial hopes on a bet that his energetic appeals to a “silent majority” of working-class Michiganders, combined with word-of-mouth and an incessant presence on social media, can catapult him into serious contention for the Democratic nomination.

“The one who works the hardest wins,” Swanson told reporters after a United Auto Workers candidate forum in May. He said he’s driven more than 80,000 miles and attended more than 1,300 events in 16 grueling months on the campaign trail.

But if recent polling can be believed — and Swanson doesn’t — he hasn’t broken through.

Swanson remains far behind the Democratic frontrunner, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and hasn’t bought the sort of advertising conventional political wisdom suggests is needed to introduce a relatively unknown candidate to voters statewide.

His campaign has several dozen billboards up throughout Michigan, and maintains a steady stream of social media content, including recent videos highlighting his relationship with Jelly Roll, a singer and rapper who has said Swanson “should be in charge of America as far as I’m concerned.”

Social media posts only go so far. Swanson promises paid ads and mailers are coming, but voting is slated to begin for absentee voters in a little more than two weeks, meaning there’s perilously little time to shift momentum in the race.

“I’m trying to break the mold, and I believe it’s gonna make a difference,” Swanson told Bridge Michigan in an interview. “And if it doesn’t, so be it. You know, I did my best.”

Union appeals

While Michigan unions have often coalesced around a single Democratic candidate, that hasn’t happened this year. Swanson turned some heads by picking off some key endorsements, including from the statewide chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Retail politics — face-to-face meetings with voters — is Swanson’s forte.

“He’s got a lot of good energy,” said Ryan Niederquill, an 18-year member of UA Local 85. The other appealing aspect of Swanson for Niederquill: he’s been a member of the American Federation of Teachers for more than 30 years.

Niederquill said he was “not a big fan” of some of the things Benson had done as secretary of state but declined to elaborate. He believed there needed to be a “clean sweep” in state government and felt Swanson could represent part of that change.

Chris Swanson and Jocelyn Benson — The United Auto Workers endorsed Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over Chris Swanson last week, but Swanson maintains hope rank-and-file members will buck their leadership’s recommendation. (Simon Schuster/Bridge Michigan)

Benson won the biggest union endorsement of the cycle last week, securing the backing of the United Auto Workers, which said she’s proven she’s “not afraid to stand up against the most powerful billionaires in the name of working-class Michiganders across the state.”

It was a blow to Swanson, who had courted members of the powerful union. At the UAW forum in May, he held up that month’s union dues as evidence of his commitment to labor, telling the members “the pathway (to victory) before me is in this room.”

Still, he argued to Bridge the endorsement was from a small group of union leaders, and Republican President Donald Trump’s two victories in Michigan are evidence members are willing to ignore official recommendations.

Another major statewide union — the Michigan Education Association — last month announced it was not endorsing in the gubernatorial race, an abstention that shocked some political observers.

A week later, one of the MEA’s largest chapters — Wayne County Region 2 — endorsed Swanson.

“The establishment may be shocked, but the people of Michigan I’ve talked to saw this dark horse coming a mile away,” Swanson said at the time.

‘Boundless energy’

Swanson has worked for the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office since 1993 but has branched out to leadership coaching, published self-help books and even penned a children’s story about a gopher named Majik who is “ready to help kids learn a magical way you can use your special gift to show love to others.”

He’s said he finished five Ironman triathlons and is “98%” vegan — saving the other 2% for the occasional meal at Culver’s, a fast-casual restaurant chain known for “ButterBurgers” and cheese curds.

“I’ve always had boundless energy,” Swanson said. “I was like that as a kid. I couldn’t sit still, and talk too much.”

In May 2020, Swanson gained national attention for marching alongside Black Lives Matter protesters in Flint following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. A wave of media exposure ensued, and the sheriff was eventually invited to speak at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

“We were able to turn a protest into a peaceful movement by walking together,” Swanson said in his DNC speech, which he also used to tout Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. “One city, one community and one country.”

When Swanson is asked what separates him from Benson, the Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner, he doesn’t point to policy.

“No. 1, I show up,” Swanson says, pointing to his willingness to attend any number of events and forums.

Second, “I bring hope and inspiration,” he added. “I bring positivity to the whole scenario.”

But Swanson also shares some differences on policy, bucking the stances of some of his fellow Democrats in state government.

Swanson has told Bridge he would work to reverse a Democrat-penned law that allows the state to authorize renewable energy projects blocked by local officials, arguing Michigan should “return regulatory authority back to local zoning boards.”

He’s also vowed to try to repeal the state’s new 24% wholesale marijuana tax, which is a centerpiece of a new bipartisan road funding law approved last year by the Legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Swanson also took some flak early in his campaign for what critics have asserted are flip-flops on major issues. Flint Area Right to Life Director Judith Climer claimed Swanson had told her he was pro-life in 2019, though Swanson has since said he had “evolved from my position.”

“I don’t know that he actually believes in anything,” said David Forsmark, a Republican political consultant in Genesee County who has followed Swanson’s career. “I think he believes in himself and whatever it takes to get into his next goal.”

Forsmark noted that for all of Swanson’s promises to champion public schools, he sent his own children to a private Christian school in the county.

A tough reality

While Swanson insists he is in the gubernatorial race to win it, public polling hasn’t reflected that confidence.

Less than 10% of Democratic primary voters backed Swanson in a series of April and May polls conducted by Emerson College, Glengariff Group Inc. and Mitchell Communications.

Benson, who led Swanson by roughly 50 percentage points in each survey, has not acknowledged him as a competitive challenger. In skipping a recent primary debate hosted by Fox 2, Benson cited a scheduling conflict and all but declared the primary already settled.

“I look forward to having more (debates) this fall when I know who’s going to be joining me on the other side of the primary,” she told the TV station.

Despite her dismissal of his candidacy, Swanson has refused to directly criticize Benson, insisting the two candidates are “options, not opponents.” That’s led to some speculation Swanson is gunning to be Benson’s running mate as lieutenant governor, something he has also roundly denied.

“I want to make it clear: I’m not dropping out, I’m not a lieutenant governor. I’m not going to withdraw,” Swanson said as he dropped off nominating petition signatures in April.

“I’ve been counted out from the beginning. Not today.”