Summary

Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Thursday that he is suspending his bid for Michigan governor, leaving the race ahead of the Aug. 4 primary without the independent candidate who had been aiming to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Duggan, a longtime Democrat who had been running as an independent, pointed to what he described as an increasingly “toxic” political climate shaped by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran and by sharply higher fuel costs. In his comments to The Associated Press, Duggan also said he had concluded that the political environment had hardened against his chances of winning statewide office.

Duggan told the AP it was going to be “very hard to win,” explaining that Democrats who would have supported him were instead galvanizing around what was happening in Washington. He said, “Democrat anger against Trump and Republicans is extremely high,” adding that “In 60 days there’s been a huge change in the attitudes of this country.”

He linked that shift to economic pain at the pump and said voters were feeling the pressure. Duggan told the AP that “People are feeling the pain at the pump and are angry about it,” framing the decision as a response to the odds he believed were forming against his campaign.

Duggan said he understood the barriers an independent faces in Michigan’s gubernatorial elections, noting that an independent has never served as governor and that third-party candidates typically struggle for the state’s top job. He said that while he would have kept fighting if he had believed a path remained, he no longer saw it—adding, “As long as I knew there was a path for victory, I was going to fight,” and, “I don’t see a likely path to win.”

In discussing the context for his decision, the AP reported that gas prices have climbed since the start of the Iran war in late February. The AP said that as of Thursday, regular unleaded gas in Michigan averaged $4.74 per gallon, according to AAA Michigan, compared with a $4.56 national average, with Michigan’s average a year earlier at $3.13.

The AP also reported polling showing shifting economic views of Trump around the start of the Iran war, including that an AP-NORC poll conducted in May found even Republicans were unhappier with Trump’s handling of the economy than they were before the war began. That polling, as described by the AP, reflected a drop in Republican approval on the economy, even while many Republicans remained broadly supportive of Trump.

Duggan’s move reshapes the field that was already attracting both major-party and independent attention. The AP said Duggan was trailing Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Republican U.S. Rep. John James, while Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson also is running as a Democrat and Perry Johnson is running as a Republican.

The AP reported that Duggan announced in December 2024 that he would pursue the governor’s office and would choose the independent route. At the time, he told the AP he wanted to offer Michigan voters “a choice,” saying the partisan climate had made it harder to address issues as it grew “more toxic.”

Duggan also described his campaign as an effort to change politics rather than act as a spoiler. He said Thursday, “I was running to change politics, not to be a spoiler,” and he said he could feel the mood in Michigan shifting toward ending “toxic partisanship,” with voters wanting parties to work together.

Michigan’s Democratic Party chairman Curtis Hertel said in a statement Thursday that there were “disagreements” with Duggan, while welcoming Duggan’s supporters into the coalition behind the party’s gubernatorial effort. Hertel said the mayor brought ideas to the race and that “As we look ahead, we welcome Mayor Duggan’s supporters into our growing coalition as we work to elect a Democratic governor this November who will continue to move Michigan forward.”

Republican former Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, meanwhile, had commented on social media after Duggan launched his run, writing that Duggan was a “credible, independent candidate with the ability to raise money.” In the AP’s account, Calley also said on X that there were “huge advantages” to having a political party behind a candidate and that being targeted by both “the left and the right will be intense,” reflecting the environment Duggan now said made his path to victory unlikely.