DETROIT — Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan launched a campaign for governor of Michigan on Wednesday, declaring he'll run as an independent and not seek the Democratic Party's nomination in 2026.

Duggan, a 66-year-old longtime Democrat, launched his gubernatorial bid with a video that highlighted his decade of accomplishments as mayor, saying "my approach didn't fit comfortably inside the dogma of either of the two political parties."

"The current system forces people to choose sides and not find solutions. I'm going to see if I can change that," Duggan said.

Duggan highlighted new street lights in Detroit at the start of his time as mayor in 2014, as well as a reversal of the city’s decades of population loss. But he argued the state needed to curb its "export" of young residents leaving Michigan and improve the education system.

“We’re building a city where everyone is valued and I’ve fought hard for civil rights, reproductive rights and rights for our LGBTQ community,” Duggan said. “But when calls mounted to defund the police, I angered some in my own party by giving Detroit police officers a well-deserved $10,000 raise and putting 300 more officers on the street."

Duggan said he will remain focused in 2025 on his duties as mayor, but wants to start "statewide conversations" by traveling across the state to listen to Michigan residents concerns.

If he's successful in November 2026, Duggan would succeed two-term Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who can't run again because of term limits.

Minutes after Duggan's campaign launched Wednesday morning, Ford Motor Co. issued a statement from Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. endorsing Duggan's independent bid to become Michigan's chief executive.

"Mike is a visionary leader with the intelligence and tenacity to achieve what many might deem impossible," Ford said. "... Michigan is a state of remarkable strength, with rich industrial capabilities, abundant natural resources, and world-class educational institutions. I firmly believe Mike Duggan has the vision, experience, and determination to help our state thrive and realize its full potential."

Duggan, who took the reins in Detroit as it emerged from bankruptcy, announced last month that he would not seek a fourth term as mayor of Detroit in 2025, setting off a frenzied race to replace him.

Duggan's decision to run as an independent for governor isn't the first time he's taken an unconventional approach to a high stakes race. In 2013, Duggan won his primary through a write-in campaign, defeating then-Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon.

He was the first White mayor to lead the city since the early 1970s.

Before he was mayor, Duggan served as deputy county executive from 1987 to 2001, as a Wayne County prosecutor from 2001 to 2004 and as CEO of the Detroit Medical Center from 2004 to 2013, when he moved back to Detroit from Livonia to run for mayor.

The U.S. Census Bureau earlier this year showed a small gain in the city's residents, the first uptick in population since the 1950s.

Republican former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley noted on social media that an independent candidate with credibility and the ability to raise money is “a potentially seismic event” that would “change the math” for the race.

“The regular course of running to the left or right in a primary and then running to the middle in general election gets complicated if there’s a funded candidate working from the middle the whole time — with a ticket already punched to the general election,” said Calley, who is now the CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan.

Calley lost the Republican primary for governor in August 2018 to then-Attorney General Bill Schuette, who went on to lose the general election to Whitmer.

“But there are huge advantages of having a political party behind you," Calley added. "And being a target of the left and the right will be intense. 2026 is already very interesting.”

--------

©2024 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.