Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a longtime Democrat, announced Wednesday that he will run for Michigan’s open governorship as an independent, leaving the party in the aftermath of the 2024 elections.
The mayor said in an interview with ABC News that “it’s clear” that “there are a lot of people in this country who are tired of both parties and tired of the system,” and hopes to “offer people a choice” in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI).
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Duggan has spent the last decade as mayor of Detroit, overseeing the city’s gradual revitalization.
In his announcement video, Duggan touted his record fighting for reproductive and LGBT rights but specifically highlighted his resistance to the Defund the Police movement. Duggan credited his decision to increase police officer pay and put hundreds of new officers on the streets with Detroit achieving its lowest number of homicides since the 1960s and halving the frequency of carjackings.
“The current system forces people to choose sides, not find solutions,” he said. “I want to see if I can change that. I’m not running to be the Democrats’ governor or the Republicans’ governor. I’m running to be your governor, so if you and your neighbors are tired of the pilots as a conflict and want to have a serious conversation about real change, please invite me to your community.”
If he wins in 2026, Duggan would become the first independent to serve as the Wolverine State’s governor. His decision to leave the Democratic Party widens the cracks that emerged following Vice President Kamala Harris‘s 2024 loss to President-elect Donald Trump.
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Ed Duggan, Mike Duggan’s son, notably served as both President Joe Biden and Harris’s state campaign director in Michigan this cycle, and Democrats’ underperformance in the critical swing state played a major factor in Harris’s loss.
Adolpho Mongo, a Detroit-based political commentator, called Duggan’s decision to leave the party a “gutsy move” that “hurts the Democratic Party.”
“There have been rumblings from folks that we need a third party, a real one,” Mongo said. “There’s no question that he is going to take a ton of Democrats with him. It’s also going to free up those moderate Republicans who are not buying MAGA.”
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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg moved his primary address to Michigan in 2022 and has been floated as a Democratic candidate to succeed Whitmer.
State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, former state Attorney General Mike Cox, former state Rep. Tom Leonard, and Rep. John James (R-MI) have all been floated as candidates on the Republican side of the aisle.