DETROIT — Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a longtime Democrat, said he will 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 fed up with both parties and the system,” Duggan said in an interview Tuesday. “And that’s why I want to give people a choice.” »
Duggan, 66, is credited by many with leading Detroit after it emerged from bankruptcy to become a prosperous, more vibrant city. He formally announced his intentions in a video released Wednesday morning, but previously discussed his future with The Associated Press. He hopes to succeed popular Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is term limited under Michigan law.
The mayor’s decision comes amid a reckoning for Democrats in Michigan, one of the few swing states that helped propel former President Donald Trump to victory in November. The Democratic Party, which had claimed a majority in both houses of the Legislature for the first time in decades just two years earlier, suffered setbacks at the polls that left state Democrats scrambling to get explanations and a way forward.
Yet few would have imagined that the mayor of the state’s largest city and largest Democratic stronghold would completely abandon his party.
Duggan said he felt he could govern more effectively as an independent.
“You have an almost evenly divided (state) legislature, which makes the stakes of each issue amplified,” he said. “It became increasingly difficult to resolve issues as the partisan climate became more and more toxic. »
Duggan could also look to avoid what is shaping up to be a crowded Democratic primary field. Potential contenders include Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist III and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is moving to Michigan in 2022, has also sparked speculation about a possible Democratic gubernatorial run. Asked by the AP on Nov. 3 about a potential candidacy, Buttigieg left the door open, saying: “Right now, it’s hard to see beyond Election Day. After that, I’ll figure out how to make myself useful. But what I do know is that I really care about what’s happening in this state. »
On the Republican side, potential candidates include Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, former state Attorney General Mike Cox, former state Rep. Tom Leonard and U.S. Rep. John James. Tudor Dixon, the Republican nominee for governor in 2022, is also considering another run.
“It changes the dynamics of gubernatorial campaigns,” said Adolph Mongo, a Detroit-based political commentator and former political consultant. “People have whispered that we need a third party, a real one.”
“It’s a courageous decision. It’s a good decision,” Mongo continued. “This hurts the Democratic Party. There’s no doubt he’ll take a ton of Democrats with him. It will also liberate moderate Republicans who don’t buy MAGA.”
Mongo said Duggan was doing research.
“I’m sure the numbers didn’t have to look too high to get the Democratic nomination,” Mongo said. “You have Jocelyn Benson. You have Garlin Gilchrist, Pete Buttigieg. He thinks outside the box. When he ran for mayor in writing, he thought outside the box.
Duggan said he thinks he can please both Democrats and Republicans.
“I expect to take away votes from both sides, which will allow me to win,” he said. “That’s the only scenario I thought of.”
A run by Duggan as an independent, even if it further fractures a Democratic Party still reeling from Trump’s victory in November, could win over voters who are looking for answers outside the party.
There is precedent. Kyrsten Sinema, then a U.S. senator from Arizona, became an independent in 2022. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin did the same last spring.
Several states have elected independent governors since 1990, Duggan noted, including Angus King in Maine, now a U.S. senator.
“The pattern you’ve seen over and over again is that when the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left or the Republican Party has moved too far to the right, a candidate has stepped in and said they want to represent the whole state,” Duggan said. “This is not something that has never happened before. We studied all these breeds.
But an independent has never been Michigan’s governor, and third-party candidates generally don’t perform well in elections for the state’s top seat. Libertarian Party candidate Mary Buzuma received only 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 to really change the quality of life in Michigan is to take a different path, I’m going to give people an alternative, an independent who will go to Lansing and work with responsible leaders in both gone.”
Last month, Duggan announced that the coming year would be his last as Detroit mayor. His current term ends in January 2026. Duggan said he then plans to “visit communities across the state that have been forgotten, sit down in neighborhood restaurants, farms and health centers.” cities and listen to people.”
“And I’m going to start by doing that and not taking the approach that some people aren’t important,” he added. “I’m not going to write anyone off.”
Duggan spent about eight years as chief executive officer of the Detroit Medical Center. He served three years as Wayne County prosecutor and 14 years as deputy county executive.
He was the first to gain votes in the 2013 Detroit mayoral primary, despite a write-in campaign due to an election challenge. Duggan, who is white, was elected in November 2013 to lead majority Black Detroit, which that summer was plunged into the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history by a state-appointed manager.
Long-term debt of $18 billion or more and hundreds of millions of dollars in annual budget deficits have left Detroit broke, if not nearly broken. Crime was high and neighborhood decay was endemic. Unemployment and poverty rates were among the highest in the country.
Having taken office in January 2014, Duggan ran the city but initially had no control over spending. By December, Detroit emerged from bankruptcy with about $7 billion in debt erased or restructured.
Over the past decade, Detroit has consistently recorded balanced municipal budgets and surpluses. Violent crime is down and neighborhoods are mostly cleaner. Detroit’s population even increased slightly in 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 set out to do,” Duggan told the AP last month. “I was born here. I grew up here. I watched the decline and felt I could help. Today we are in a very different place in the city.
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