Everybody in this town knew he would run for governor.
Nobody in this town knew he would chuck his life-long Democratic roots to run as an independent.
Score it Mike Duggan 2 and the Lansing know-it-alls zippo.
With that out of the way, the critical question is, can he win?
Nobody knows because these are uncharted waters unless you count the year 1842 which was the last time voters could pick somebody for governor who was not an R or D but a Whig of all things.
At this juncture, you may be complaining, “who cares about the 2026 race for governor? We need a breather from all the angst of the last year and a half.”
Duly noted and you’re excused to flip over to the Obit section if you so choose.
Now that my bride and daughter are the only ones left, here goes.
The Mayor of Detroit got everyone’s attention with this smooth move. It was gutsy based on his thinking that huge elements of the body politic in this state are fed-up with their own party which forced them to hold their collective noses and vote for the lesser of two evils in the race for president.
Mr. Duggan tells them he will not be beholden to any political machine and can be the governor of the people.
Isn’t that what they all say? Nonetheless the experts say he may be onto something by creating a new path for voters to follow.
But there is another angle on this story in that Michigan has a rich history of welcoming independent mavericks to the game. The only problem is none of them have ever won! But they have managed on occasion to suck away votes from majority party candidates thus indirectly helping to decide the winner. Third party candidate Jill Stein did just that and Hillary Clinton lost in Michigan to Donald Trump by a handful of votes in 2016 as a result.
“I would think Democrats would be concerned because he has the potential of peeling off probably the largest concentration of Democrats votes in the state,” right in his own backyard of Detroit and the suburbs. That from veteran Michigan pollster Bernie Porn.
Given Detroit’s monster economic recovery, now fed even more by the football team in Honolulu Blue, Mr. Duggan has a positive story to tell i.e. I did it in Detroit. I can do it for the entire state.
And if Donald Trump decides who the state GOP will run for governor, and if the Democrats pick a candidate who is a little to left-wing for the average voter, citizens may again be left with a “lesser of two evils” choice and decide to pick the guy with no political ties.
At least that is the fingerscrossed hope in the Duggan camp.
And minus the public polling data to show it can be done, Mr. Duggan and company have only that at this read: Hope.
