PODCASTS:
May 22, 2026 ~ Tom Leonard, former speaker of the Michigan House and partner at Plunkett Cooney, shares his perspective on Mike Duggan’s decision to step away from the Michigan governor’s race.
May 22, 2026 ~ Adrian Hemond, CEO of Grassroots Midwest, breaks down the political ripple effects of Mike Duggan’s decision to exit the Michigan governor’s race.
May 22, 2026 ~ State Rep. Ron Robinson (R-Utica) weighs in on the political impact of Mike Duggan stepping out of the governor’s race and what it means for the field ahead. He also discusses the importance of continued funding for Selfridge Air National Guard Base and its role in Michigan’s economy and national defense.
MICHIGAN ~ Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Thursday morning that he is ending his independent candidacy for governor, months ahead of Michigan’s general election.
In a letter sent ot the media, Duggan wrote, “I no longer feel good about our chances to win,” citing a changing political atmosphere since he announced his surprise independent bid for governor in late 2024. He added, “We knew the Independent route was filled with challenge.”
He also stated he was behind both Democrats and Republicans in campaign fundraising.
“Governor’s campaigns are today funded overwhelmingly from well-established networks of national party money, which is why I’ve been all across America meeting with national groups to try to build a competitive fundraising network for Independents,” Duggan said. “There is much interest, but we’ve finally concluded the national fundraising for these groups is too much in its infancy to be of great help to our race in 2026.”
While he said he saw excitement for change during his campaign and had a desire to move past “Michigan’s toxic party politics,” Duggan said by April, the mood of the country had shifted in favor of Democrats. He explained how many Democrat and independent voters are “unified in anger” against President Donald Trump over the Iran War and high gas prices. The strong Democratic victory in Michigan’s 35th Senate District earlier this month, where Democrat Chedrick Greene won over Republican Jason Tunney by 60% in a competitive race, further proved this trend to Duggan.
“For the public in general, our internal polling showed the intense anger over gas prices and Iran was boosting Democrats in every office nationally,” Duggan said. “The Chamber poll last week showing we’d fallen 11 points behind the Democratic candidate reflects that reality.”
The poll in question was conducted by the Detroit Regional Chamber, which found that a hypothetical general election matchup puts Democrat candidate Jocelyn Benson in first place at 34.2%, Republican candidate John James at 29.2%, and Duggan in third at 23%.
Stay tuned with WJR for more developments on this story.
