Detroit mayor launches independent 2026 run for Michigan governor

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Wednesday that he will run for Michigan governor as an independent, breaking from the Democratic Party.

“I’m not running to be the Democrats’ governor or the Republicans’ governor — I’m running to be your governor,” Duggan, a lifelong Democrat, said in a video announcement.

The three-term mayor is the first to officially enter what is expected to be a crowded 2026 field vying to replace Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited from running again.

Duggan, who is the second-longest-serving mayor in the city’s history, announced last month that he would not seek a fourth mayoral term, telling the Detroit Free Press at the time that he “felt like I did what I set out to do.”

Duggan said in the video that as mayor, he “didn’t fit comfortably inside the dogma of either of the two political parties.” He added that “when the calls mounted to defund the police, I angered some in my own party” by approving increased overtime pay for Detroit Police officers in 2022.

“It’s clear to me that there are a lot of people in this country who are tired of both parties and tired of the system,” Duggan told The Associated Press in an interview. “And so I want to offer people a choice.”

Duggan entered the mayor’s office in 2013 as Detroit was reeling from bankruptcy, and is widely considered to have succeeded in his efforts to restore the city. He won reelection in 2021 with 76 percent of the vote.

“The political fighting and the nonsense that once held Detroit back is too often what we’re seeing in Michigan today,” Duggan said in the video, adding, “I’m going to see if I can change that by starting a campaign for governor, by having a conversation about whether it’s time for a whole new approach — a governor who’s an independent.”