2026 DREAMING
We’ve all heard the familiar Democratic names being kicked around as possible contenders for governor in 2026 – SOS Jocelyn Benson, state Senator Mallory McMorrow, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist – but that list ignores Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, the star of the President Joe Biden TV and digital commercials that have been in heavy rotation in recent weeks. The telegenic sheriff reportedly has had his eye on a possible gubernatorial run since he started getting press in 2020 when he discarded his riot gear and joined a George Floyd protest March in Flint. In the Biden commercials, part of an eight battleground state push, Swanson takes issue with former President Donald Trump as a divisive leader who he blames for not calling off his supporters to prevent the now infamous January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The third generation of his family to work in law enforcement, Swanson has 27 years – five as the top dog – in the sheriff department, the fifth largest such department in the state. Swanson has gotten his share of blowback, based on comments (think disinformation) from Facebook, where he has ventured to not only endorse the incumbent president but also a couple of other candidates, like Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden. Swanson may want, before too much time passes, to get some inside advice from Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, a former member of the state Senate, who tried to parlay – without success – his sterling reputation into a 2006 run for the U.S. Senate and for governor in 2010.