Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week suggested what most Democratic voters have felt since last year: Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is expected to become the party’s nominee for governor.
Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson is the other Democratic candidate still in the race with Benson, though he is trailing far behind in polling and campaign fundraising.
The primary election is August 4.
“I have a feeling it is becoming pretty clear who the candidate is going to be, but until the people of Michigan make it official, my job will be to make sure we are prepared for the fall,” Whitmer said without naming Benson during an appearance on MichMash, a podcast by Gongwer News Service and Michigan Public’s WDET.
The governor, the vice chair of the Democratic Governor’s Association, said she wouldn’t make an endorsement because there’s still a primary election. However, her comments on the show last week reveal how Democratic leadership is feeling about the state of the race.
U.S. Rep. John James, former attorney general Mike Cox, former Lt. Gov. Tom Leonard, state Sen. Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt and businessman Perry Johnson are running for governor as Republicans.
On Duggan, Whitmer said that she still views the independent former Detroit mayor as a Democrat.
“Mike Duggan is a Democrat, he’s been a Democrat for 40 years, he was the Democratic mayor of Detroit, he did some great things and we worked together,” Whitmer said. “As we look to the high stakes of this upcoming election and we think about who our secretary of state, who our Attorney General, who our governors are, we want a free and fair election, I think anything that could compromise that should raise concerns for everyone. It’s something in the back of my mind as I watch this play out.”
Duggan’s campaign told Michigan Chronicle that Duggan left the party in 2024 when he announced his run for governor. While Duggan was a Democrat as mayor, the Detroit mayor’s office is technically a nonpartisan office.
Whitmer told Gongwer/WDET that it would be a mistake to underestimate any of the candidates in the race to replace her.
Candidates for governor in recent weeks have traveled across the state to meet with voters.
At a roundtable Benson’s campaign hosted Monday in Grand Rapids, the state’s election chief said as governor she would ban private investors from buying houses their first 100 days on the market, tax short-term AirBnb style rentals and expand tax credits to prioritize building.
Duggan last month laid out his education plan in Grand Rapids, $4.5 billion education plan to hold administrators accountable, boost early reading outcomes, expand career and technical education, and create a five-year school grading plan.
On Monday, Swanson joined Teamsters Local 332 nurses, who have been on strike for months, on the picket line. He told Bulwark last month the Democratic Party is “the party fo the people,” saying most voters across party lines are exhausted by the political division.
Swanson has said he would reduce FOIA exemptions to increase government transparency, audit and restructure Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), “to make it work for everyone, not just the political insiders.”
He has also supported a “cooling off” period for elected officials to become lobbyists. Elected office isn’t an audition for a different job.
