Detroit Dem Mayor Announces Run For Michigan Governor As Independent

Detroit Democratic Mayor Mike Duggan, who has been in office since 2014, announced that he is running for Michigan governor as an independent in the 2026 election.

Duggan, 66, who has served decades in public office in Wayne County and Detroit, told city employees last week that he would not run for another term as mayor. He officially announced in a press release on Wednesday that he is running to replace Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited after 2026, the Detroit Free Press reported. Duggan has been a Democrat for his entire political career but said he is running as an independent because he wants to change “the current system [that] forces people to choose sides.”

“I’m not running to be the Democrats’ governor or the Republicans’ governor. I’m running to be your governor,” Duggan said. “The political fighting and the nonsense that once held back Detroit is too often what we’re seeing across Michigan today. The current system forces people to choose sides — not find solutions. It’s time to change that. I intend to bring together Democrats, Republicans and Independents — and our young people, far too many of whom have given up on our political system — together to move Michigan forward.”

Whitmer, who easily won a second term in 2022, is a rising national figure in the Democratic Party and is being floated as a potential candidate for president in 2028.

Duggan has overseen a city that has gone through a decades-long spell of violence and decline. Earlier this year, the city boasted of recording the lowest homicide rate since 1962, with 252 homicides reported in 2023. According to the city, non-fatal shootings and carjackings also decreased in 2023.

Despite these recent drops in violent crime, however, Detroit remains one of the most dangerous places to live in the U.S. According to 2022 data, Detroit ranked second, only behind Memphis, for the highest violent crime rate in the nation at 2,027.9 violent crimes per 100,000 people.

Duggan touted his record of leading Detroit as the city came out of bankruptcy in 2014.

“Detroit’s story of resurgence is one of Detroiters who never gave up on their city,” Duggan said last month when he announced he would not run for a fourth term as mayor. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as mayor over the past 12 years and I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together—from emerging out of bankruptcy to becoming a vibrant, healthy city that is a model of resilience and transformation.”

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Democrats who have been discussed as potential Michigan gubernatorial candidates include Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, and former Secretary of Transporation Pete Buttigieg, who recently moved to the Great Lakes State.

Numerous potential contenders on the Republican side include Congresswoman Lisa McClain, Congressman John James, Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, and conservative commentator Tudor Dixon, who was the GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2022.