Mike Duggan drops governor bid in Michigan election shocker

Mike Duggan ends independent campaign for Michigan governor
Duggan cited shifting political landscape that appears to benefit Democrats
The former Detroit mayor left the Democrats party in late 2024, intent on giving voters a third viable option at the top of the ticket

Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is ending his bid for governor, his campaign said Thursday in a stunning announcement.

In a message to supporters, Duggan said the political landscape appears to have shifted considerably toward Democrats, making his independent campaign less viable.

“I got into this race to try to change our politics, not to be a spoiler,” Duggan wrote. “I’m still hopeful our campaign will prove to have a real long-term impact.”

Duggan had pitched his campaign as a rejection of traditional partisan politics that had, in his casting, snared state government in gridlock and acrimony.

“For the last 18 months I’ve worked every day to try to change Michigan’s toxic party politics,” Duggan said in a statement. “… We knew the independent route was filled with challenges.”

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Despite early optimistic polling and a slew of local union endorsements, Duggan saw his support slump in recent weeks as support began to coalesce around partisan choices.

A recent poll sponsored by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce — which had endorsed him — showed Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson leading Duggan by 11 percentage points in a hypothetical three-way matchup with Republican John James, who was second in the survey.

While many political observers expressed shock at Duggan’s announcement, Republican pollster Steve Mitchell told Bridge Michigan he was not at all surprised.

“Everything Mike Duggan does as a candidate is poll-driven … and it’s been clear to me for a long time that there’s no path for him to win the governorship,” said Mitchell, who conducted surveys of Detroit voters during Duggan’s winning mayoral campaigns.

Duggan attributed challenges in his gubernatorial campaign in part to the national political climate, saying his internal polling showed a boost for Democrats because of “intense anger over gas prices” stemming from the Iran war that began under Republican President Donald Trump.

As a candidate without party affiliation, Duggan was also up against the already established statewide infrastructure of two major parties, and had no straightforward way to raise the funds necessary for a winning campaign operation.

An affiliated nonprofit account called Put Progress First had plastered the state outside metro Detroit with billboards touting Duggan. But that did not appear enough to break longstanding partisan affiliations among the electorate.

“If we were even in the polls and behind in fundraising, we have a path to winning,” Duggan said in his statement. “If we were behind in the polls and even in fundraising, we have a path. But we’re behind in both.

“As generous as our Michigan donors have been, we will be strongly outspent by the national Republican and Democratic parties this fall.”

Duggan had stunned Democrats after the 2024 presidential election by announcing he would leave the party he had spent decades representing, saying he wanted to lead the state with no partisan goals “except to get people to work together for all of Michigan.”

But memories in politics are short and much has changed in the interim, noted Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist with the bipartisan Grassroots Midwest firm in Lansing.

“The problem here for Duggan is that the independent candidacy, while it was going to be difficult no matter what, only makes sense in the context of the relative party brands in 2024,” Hemond told Bridge Michigan.

“That’s not where we’re at anymore.”

The Michigan Democratic Party had attacked Duggan relentlessly throughout his campaign. But after his announcement, state party Chair Curtis Hertel Jr. praised the former Democrat, saying he “brought crucial ideas to this race” and would “welcome Mike Duggan’s supporters into our growing coalition.”

A lingering question in Duggan’s campaign is whether he would draw more from Democrats or Republicans, and recent polling indicated he was drawing more from traditional GOP voters — a troubling sign for his campaign as the prospects for Michigan Democrats improved.

Scott Greenlee, a GOP consultant who never believed Duggan had a pathway to victory, was nevertheless shocked by Duggan’s relatively early exit from the race.

“I don’t get completely stunned in politics very often, and haven’t for a long time, and this move really stuns me,” he said. “I think it was still way too early to formally decide who he was going to pull the votes, the support from.”

Duggan did not have to run in a primary and could have secured his place on the November general election ballot by turning in petition signatures in mid-July.

His campaign had raised eyebrows in some political circles earlier this year by spending weeks criticizing how Michigan Democrats had spent their two-year stint in trifecta control of state government, before pivoting back toward a unity message.

In the waning days of his campaign, Duggan again turned to attacking fellow candidates, criticizing Benson at a United Auto Workers forum over past campaign donations, which Benson responded to by calling Duggan a “corporate candidate.”

Responding to his announcement Thursday, Benson, a Detroit resident, thanked Duggan for his campaign and prior work in the city.

“At a time when politics can feel divided and cynical, we need more civility, more listening, and more people willing to work together to move our state forward,” she said in a statement.

“I welcome Mayor Duggan’s ideas, his supporters, and everyone who believes Michigan’s future is bigger than division — and that it can be a place where anyone can afford to live, work, and thrive. We may not always agree on everything, but we share a commitment to building a stronger Michigan. And that work continues in this campaign.”

Hemond said Duggan’s exit was “great news for Jocelyn.”

“This basically kicks off the general election,” Hemond said, predicting a general election matchup between Benson and Republican US Rep. John James, though businessman Perry Johnson has a ““non-zero chance” in the GOP primary, he added.

James, in a social media post, also thanked Duggan.

“I respect anyone willing to step into the arena and serve something bigger than themselves,” he said. “While we have real disagreements on policy, we both recognize Michigan is headed in the wrong direction.”

Read Duggan’s full message “to Michigan” below:

Dear Friends,

I am so disappointed to have to write you this letter.

For the last 18 months I’ve worked every day to try to change Michigan’s toxic party politics. I’ve been supported by hundreds of volunteers who believe deeply that years of constant Democratic-Republican conflict in Lansing have led to our schools declining, our housing costs rising, and our young people moving out of Michigan in record numbers.

We knew the Independent route was filled with challenge. Even against those odds, the excitement for real change carried this campaign upward for more than a year. In every one of the 5-10 town halls a week I was holding across Michigan, we hosted Democrat, Republican, and Independent neighbors all mixed together in lively and positive discussions. It was a remarkable experience.

But by April, the mood of the country had shifted suddenly and dramatically. Democrats (and many Independents) were unified in anger as Trump’s war in Iran dragged on and gas prices rose above $5 a gallon. On May 5, the Democratic State Senate candidate in Saginaw won 60% of the vote in a seat Republicans thought would be very competitive.

Against the Democratic headwinds, we worked twice as hard. We continued to pile up huge numbers of union endorsements, once the unions learned that Michigan election law allowed voters to vote both straight ticket Democrat and also vote Duggan as an Independent.

But for the public in general, our internal polling showed the intense anger over gas prices and Iran was boosting Democrats in every office nationally. The Chamber poll last week showing we’d fallen 11 points behind the Democratic candidate reflects that reality.

Being down 11 points in May wouldn’t discourage me – I’ve been down worse than that in the past. But this time it’s compounded by our inability to build serious national fundraising support. Michigan donors have been extraordinarily generous in supporting this campaign – 94% of my donors come from Michigan. We raised more instate than any other candidate.

But Governor’s campaigns are today funded overwhelmingly from well-established networks of national party money, which is why I’ve been all across America meeting with national groups to try to build a competitive fundraising network for Independents. There is much interest, but we’ve finally concluded the national fundraising for these groups is too much in its infancy to be of great help to our race in 2026. As generous as our Michigan donors have been, we will be strongly outspent by the national Republican and Democratic parties this fall.

If we were even in the polls and behind in fundraising, we have a path to winning. If we were behind in the polls and even in fundraising, we have a path. But we’re behind in both. It’s just not right to ask our volunteers, faith leaders, unions, elected officials and donors to continue in a campaign that, in my heart, I no longer feel good about our chances to win.

I got into this race to try to change our politics, not to be a spoiler. I’m still hopeful our campaign will prove to have a real long-term impact. 23% support in the last poll means more than 1.6 million Michigan voters are today looking for a Governor candidate serious about reducing the toxic partisan politics. If the candidates on the ballot this year take that message to heart and truly reach out to those voters, we will have accomplished something important.

I will never be able to express the gratitude I feel for all your support and encouragement. I wish I could have done better for you.

Mike