DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – Michigan will pick its next governor in November 2026, and voters will be able to choose from a host of Democrats, Republicans, and an Independent.

“Politics as usual.”

That Independent is Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. The longtime Democrat who ran the state’s largest city for 12 years decided to switch things up with his latest campaign bid. Duggan appeared on The Steve Gruber Show on Thursday morning and explained his reasoning.

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“The worse our problems in the state get the more the Republicans and Democrats try to succeed by blaming each other,” Duggan said, saying he’s grown weary of that strategy. He admitted he wasn’t sure what the road would look like shifting from the Democratic Party to an Independent, but he said he’s received surprising support.

“I felt like enough people in this state are tired of just Republicans and Democrats and politics as usual,” Duggan said. “Based on the reaction, there are a lot of people ready for change.”

In addition to that change, he said some of the Democratic Party’s causes did not ring true for him or the city of Detroit, like the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in 2020.

“In the city of Detroit we did not have a single fire. We did not have a single store looted,” Duggan said praising the bond between the police and the community. “There were those in the Democratic Party saying ‘defund the police’ but I actually put more cops on the streets and gave them raises with overwhelming support of the people.”

One of those people in the “defund” camp is Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She said she supported “the spirit of defunding the police” during that same time.

Michigan’s gubernatorial lineup.

Democrats running in the gubernatorial election include Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson,
Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and Marni Sawicki. Republicans looking to switch the state’s top job from blue to red are U.S. Rep. John James, Michigan Senate Minority Leader Sen. Aric Nesbitt, former Michigan House Speaker Tom Leonard, former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, and Anthony Hudson, a truck driver who ran for Congress in Michigan’s 8th District in 2024.

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Watch Duggan’s complete interview on The Steve Gruber Show here.