Detroit Mayor Duggan, a longtime Democrat, will run for Michigan governor in 2026 as independent
DETROIT– Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a longtime Democrat, says he plans to run as an independent governor of Michigan in 2026.
“It’s clear to me that there are a lot of people in this country who are tired of both parties and the system,” Duggan said in an interview Tuesday. “And that’s why I want to offer people a choice.”
Duggan, 66, is credited by many with leading Detroit after it emerged from bankruptcy to become a thriving, more vibrant city. He formally announced his intentions in a video released Wednesday morning, but discussed his future with The Associated Press before that. He hopes to succeed popular Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited under Michigan law.
The mayor’s decision comes in the midst of a reckoning for Michigan Democrats, one of a handful swing states that helped former President Donald Trump to victory in November. The Democratic Party, which just two years earlier had claimed a majority in both houses of the Legislature for the first time in decades, faced setbacks at the ballot box, leaving state Democrats scrambling for explanations and a path forward .
Still, few expected the mayor of the state’s largest city and largest Democratic stronghold to abandon his party altogether.
Duggan said he felt he could govern more effectively as an independent.
“You have a (state) Legislature that is almost evenly divided, which raises the stakes of every issue,” he said. “It has become increasingly difficult to address things as the partisan climate has become more toxic.”
Duggan could also try to avoid what is shaping up as a crowded Democratic primary field. Potential contenders include Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist III and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.
The US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigiegmoving to Michigan in 2022 has also sparked speculation about a possible bid from the Democratic governor. When Buttigieg was asked by the AP on Nov. 3 about a possible candidacy, he left the door open, saying, “Right now, it’s hard to look past Election Day. Then I’ll figure out how to make myself useful. But what I know is that I really care about what happens in this state.”
On the Republican side, potential candidates include Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, former Attorney General Mike Cox, former state Rep. Tom Leonard and U.S. Rep. John James. Tudor Dixon, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2022, is also considering another run.
Duggan said he thinks he can appeal to both Democrats and Republicans.
“I expect that I will take votes away from both, which will allow me to win,” he said. “That’s the only scenario I’ve thought of.”
A Duggan running as an independent, while further breaking a state Democratic Party still reeling from Trump’s victory in November, could win over voters looking outside the party for answers.
There is a precedent. Then-USA Senator Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona made the switch to independent in 2022. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia did the same last spring.
Several states have elected independent governors since 1990, Duggan noted Angus King in Maine, now a U.S. Senator.
“The pattern you’ve seen over and over again is when the Democratic Party moved too far to the left or the Republican Party moved too far to the right, a candidate stepped in and said I want to represent the entire state,” Duggan said. It’s something that hasn’t happened before. We have studied all those breeds.”
But an independent Michigan governor has never served, and third-party candidates typically don’t fare well in elections for the state’s highest seat. Mary Buzuma, candidate for the Libertarian Party, received just 0.9% of the vote in 2022.
“If you think the two-party system serves you well, you can vote for your Republican or Democratic candidate,” Duggan said. “But if you think the only way we can really change the quality of life in Michigan is another way, then I’m going to give people the alternative: an independent going to Lansing and running with responsible leadership in both parties. .”
Last month, Duggan announced that the coming year would be his last as mayor of Detroit. His current term ends in January 2026. Duggan said he next plans to “go to forgotten communities across the state and sit in neighborhood restaurants, farms and downtowns and listen to people.”
“And I’m going to start with that and not adopt the view that some people are unimportant,” he added. “I’m not going to write anyone off.”
Duggan was CEO of the Detroit Medical Center for about eight years. He served three years as Wayne County prosecutor and fourteen years as deputy county executive.
He was the top vote-getter in Detroit’s 2013 mayoral election, despite running a write-in campaign over a ballot challenge. Duggan, who is white, was elected in November 2013 to lead primarily Black Detroit, which was filmed that summer the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history by a manager appointed by the state.
Long-term debts of $18 billion or more and hundreds of millions of dollars in annual budget deficits pushed Detroit into bankruptcy. Crime was high and destruction in the neighborhood was widespread. Unemployment and poverty rates were among the highest in the country.
Duggan, who took power in January 2014, led the city but initially had no control over spending. By December of that year, Detroit had emerged from bankruptcy, with about $7 billion in debt erased or restructured.
Over the past decade, Detroit has routinely struggled with balanced city budgets and surpluses. Violent crime has decreased and neighborhoods tend to be cleaner. Detroit’s population will actually increase slightly by 2023. It was the first increase since the 1950s, when 1.8 million people called the city home.
‘I feel like I did what I wanted to do’ Duggan told the AP last month. “I was born here. I grew up here. I saw the decline and felt like I could help. Today we are in a very different place in the city.”
______
Associated Press reporter Joey Cappelletti in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this story.