Who's running for Michigan governor: Jocelyn Benson tweets, deletes campaign post
Last updated: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, at 8:30 p.m. This post will be updated with candidate and campaign announcements ahead of Michigan’s 2026 election.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson appears to have inadvertently unveiled her plans to run for governor.
A social media account for the two-term Detroit Democrat on Tuesday night tweeted out a link to a "Jocelyn Benson for Governor" fundraising page in a post that was quickly deleted.
The since-closed fundraising page said Benson was running “to ensure everyone gets a fair shot.”
The page introduced Benson as a “mom, military spouse, former teacher, and Secretary of State” and quoted her as saying: “I’ve never backed down from a tough fight or hard work. That's why I know that together, we can build the future Michigan deserves.”
A separate website Benson has used for prior campaigns also briefly displayed a gubernatorial campaign logo on Tuesday before it was locked behind a password.
Benson has not yet formally announced a run, but in recent weeks toured the state for a series of events that some observers had speculated were a run-up to a campaign announcement.
Bridge Michigan was unable to reach Benson for comment.
— Simon Schuster
Senate GOP leader Aric Nesbitt jumps in
Jan. 14, 2025
Aric Nesbitt, the Michigan Senate Republican leader, announced Tuesday morning he’ll be seeking the GOP nomination for governor in 2026.
“Michiganders deserve so much better than what they’re getting from these Democrats up in Lansing,” Nesbitt said in an announcement video, touting his roots as a “small-town farm boy.”
The 44-year-old lawmaker served six years in the Michigan House before spending a year as Michigan’s lottery commissioner. Nesbitt is now in his second four-year term in the Michigan Senate. Before elected office, he worked for nine years as a lawyer in the Department of Attorney General.
In his announcement video, Nesbitt said he wants to create a Michigan that’s “freer, more secure and more prosperous than the Michigan of today.”
He highlighted his background as a sixth-generation farmer and listed priorities that include opposing electric vehicles, promoting manufacturing, supporting President-Elect Donald Trump, ending sanctuary cities and protecting gun rights.
— Simon Schuster
Former Michigan AG Mike Cox files gubernatorial paperwork
Dec. 23, 2024
Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has filed paperwork with the state allowing him to raise funds for a possible campaign for governor.
The Livonia-based Republican served as the state's top law enforcement official from 2003 through 2010 before returning to private practice as an attorney.
While filing the campaign paperwork means Cox can begin to campaign for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, he's described the move as exploratory.
"I think it's a critical time in Michigan, and I want to part of the solution," he told The Detroit Free Press. "It's time for Michigan to have a fighter again."
— Jonathan Oosting
Mike Duggan launches campaign for governor — as an independent
Dec. 5, 2024
Detroit’s Democratic Mayor Mike Duggan is running for governor of Michigan — as an independent, an unexpected political pivot that one former state official called a "potentially seismic event” for the 2026 race.
Duggan announced his bid in a YouTube video, asking: “What if we upended the system and gave Michigan voters a new choice? A governor who didn’t run as a candidate of either party but went to work every day with no goal except to get people to work together for all of Michigan.”
Duggan was elected mayor of Michigan’s largest city in 2013, when he ran a write-in campaign after failing to qualify for the primary ballot by narrowly missing a one-year residency rule.The position is technically nonpartisan, but Duggan has been a vocal Democrat and spoke at national party conventions.
Duggan declared earlier this year that he was "100% behind" Kamala Harris in the presidential election but said Wednesday that working class voters no longer seem to believe the party represents them.
“There have been a lot of people who feel left out of both parties, feel like they don’t have a place where they belong, and being limited in two parties,” Duggan said. “I’ve watched what’s happened in Lansing, and it has gotten worse and worse. The partisan environment is more and more toxic.”
Read more here: Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan upends Michigan governor race with independent campaign
— Simon Schuster
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