DETROIT (WWJ) -- Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has announced a run for governor of Michigan in 2026 — as an independent.
In a video announcement, just days after he announced that he would not be seeking a fourth term as Mayor of Detroit, Duggan said he's taking "a whole new approach" with this campaign.
"What would happen if we upended the system and gave Michigan voters a new choice: a governor who didn't run as a candidate of either party, who went to work every day with no goal except to get people to work together for all of Michigan," Duggan said.
As a longtime Democrat, why would Duggan choose to go this way? And how will if affect his chances of winning?
WWJ Newsradio 950's Jackie Paige spoke live with pollster Ed Sarpolis, who said he was not surprised by Duggan's announcement.
And he seems to thinks running as an independent is a smart move.
"Mike Duggan always was about winning, and he's learned for the best," Sarpolis said. "He remembers Bill Clinton in '92 when he changed the dynamics. He saw what happened with Donald Trump in this last election. He's learned from the Democrats over the last eight years.
"You gotta start talking to all voters, not just women voters and on women issues. You got to talk about the economy and jobs and male voters, which cost Kamala Harris the race," Sarpolis said.
Duggan said his campaign for governor will begin by finding out what issues are on people's minds, in "every corner of Michigan."
"I'm looking forward to sitting in living rooms from Detroit to Alpena to Hillsdale," Duggan said, in a lengthy statement issues Wednesday.
“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.”
Detroit was just coming out of bankruptcy when Duggan took office, and has seen a lot of growth with him at the helm. However, the mayor is far less well-known outside the city.
With Detroit standing out as a Democratic stronghold and a crucial voting bloc for Duggan, couldn't running apart from the party hurt his chances?
Maybe not, Sarpolis said.
"You've got to look at the fact he's just trying to get to the primary because in the primary, it's, you know, pretty much the Democratic primary. It's predominantly, almost 60%, female voters," Sarpolis said.
"And he also the fact that most of his life, he's raised money from both Republicans and Democrats... He's planning what he's did before, if, by starting now he has the advantage of raising money for both Republicans and Democrats as he's done before."
And Duggan knows what he's done that works, according to Sarpolis.
"So, by the time the Democrats started to decide what they're going to do, he's already met with all the power brokers and all the people around the state like he did. When he ran for mayor of Detroit, he started a year in advance and basically, he was underestimated and that's what he's trying to do today," Sarpolis said.
Political analyst Mario Morrow, Sr. called Duggan's decision to part from the Democrats in this run a "politically bold, smart and extremely aggressive" move.
"Based on the political climate in Michigan, Duggan sees an opportunity to build bridges and do something that rarely is accomplished - run and win as an independent," Morrow said, in a statement. "Duggan is appealing to members of both parties, young and old, who are frustrated and feel disenfranchised. He is basically saying, let's put the future of the state before loyalty to a particular political party. Also, fundraising is going to be less difficult, and he can walk into the general election unbruised unlike the democratic and republican candidates who will all come out bloody from difficult primaries. In short a brilliant move."
While not mentioning Duggan by name, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson appeared to be one of the first state Democrats to comment publicly on Duggan's decision, when she posted on X (formerly Twitter):
"I’m proud to be a Democrat. We’re the party of fairness, freedom, of opportunity for all. We’re the party that does the courageous thing because it’s the right thing. We are the party that recognizes we’re all in this together and we will only truly thrive and prosper when all thrive and prosper. We are the party that stands with the voters, and stands with democracy."
Benson's name has been one of a handful floated as a Democratic candidate for governor in 2026, when the term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer leaves office.