Former Mayor of Detroit Is Now Former Candidate for Governor of Michigan - Why Did Mike Duggan Bail?

Every now and then, a story I’d heard before comes roaring back into the headlines. Most of the time, there’s a reason I ignored it initially. I hear plenty of dumb rumors and dubious stories, and the overwhelming majority aren’t worth remembering.

Well, this time I was told correctly, and I can’t actually believe it.

Damn.

Just last week, the Detroit Regional Chamber released a poll about the gubernatorial race here in Michigan, and this is what they found...

In response to one potential three-way matchup, about 34% of voters surveyed said they supported Benson, the current secretary of state from Detroit, 29% said they backed Republican U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, and 23% said they preferred Duggan, the former mayor of Detroit who’s running as an independent. About 14% were undecided.
The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

I read that and thought to myself... "Hmmmmmmmmmmm, this was done a couple of weeks ago, and it is right about where I think we should be."

I had people claiming all kinds of things about what this meant for the race in November and how the ground was being laid for a GOP win or loss. This is a typical post-poll analysis with people that I know and not shocking at all.

Yet one person I know had the sheer audacity to claim that former Mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan would drop out of the race. What nerve I thought this person had to utter such nonsense when I knew better. While Duggan had dropped since the January polling, he was still considered viable.

Right?

Nope, I was wrong.

Duggan did drop out today.

According to the Detroit News:

Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan ended his independent campaign for governor Thursday, resetting the race for Michigan's highest political office.
"We don't feel like there is a path forward. And I never ran to be a spoiler," Duggan said Thursday afternoon at a press conference at Huntington Place.
Duggan said he no longer felt good about his chances of winning in November because of shifting "huge national headwinds" swinging in the favor of Democrats and struggles to establish a national fundraising base beyond Michigan supporters.
"What we're doing today is facing reality," Duggan said.

What!?!?!?!

Could you not have faced reality before today?

Like maybe last December?

The Scramble to Replace Whitmer Is Heating Up in Michigan

I never believed for a moment that Duggan would actually win the governorship. There were pie-in-the-sky scenarios that I had read about from supporters of his that they believed were the path forward to him winning. Quite frankly, even though he was polling higher than any third candidate of recent note on a statewide scale, I had no belief that he could actually win.

Yet some of the people that I chat with about what is happening here in the Great Lake State believed, as I did, that the former Democrat and former Mayor of the largest blue city in Michigan could pull enough votes away from the Democratic candidate for Governor (Benson) and allow the Republican to win.

That hope just ended with Duggan ending his campaign.

Right on cue, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and presumptive Democrat nominee for Governor of Michigan chimed in.

"At a time when politics can feel divided and cynical, we need more civility, more listening, and more people willing to work together to move our state forward," Benson said. "I welcome Mayor Duggan’s ideas, his supporters, and everyone who believes Michigan’s future is bigger than division — and that it can be a place where anyone can afford to live, work, and thrive. We may not always agree on everything, but we share a commitment to building a stronger Michigan. And that work continues in this campaign.”

Really kind of hard to believe that the Secretary of State and her Governor team whipped that statement out so quickly. If she could only make sure that the voter rolls in Michigan had actual people who are eligible to vote in the state as fast and accurately...

If only.

The road to the August GOP primary just became a little more difficult for John James, Mike Cox, and Perry Johnson. Whoever wins in August will face Benson in November and will have a steeper mountain to climb now — and will need to be able to raise a ton of money.

Not saying the GOP can't win but...

Hope abounds.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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