PLANTING STAKES

The proverbial earth shook in early December, and it wasn’t because Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan made the long-expected announcement that he was running for governor. No, that would have garnered a yawn. The earth quaked because the long-time Democrat launched his campaign for governor in 2026 to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) as an independent. “I’m not running to be the Democrats’ governor or the Republicans’ governor. I’m running to be your governor,” Duggan said in an emailed statement. Traditionally, an independent candidate has less than a zero-chance-in-hell of winning, but this is Mike Duggan we’re talking about, product of the McNamara machine (for those of you youngsters, think the airport terminal. There’s a reason it’s named for him. Look it up.), who ran the powerful DMC medical center before winning his first campaign for Detroit’s mayor during bankruptcy as a write-in. “One hundred percent he can win. You just need money,” said a Republican honcho. “Who is so allegiant to their party today?” A Democratic bigwig said there was surprise on their side, “because he has been so close to the party – but it’s no big deal. People are going to be voting for him, or the party.” As an independent, Duggan skirts the primary skirmish – and the massive drain on finances, if he can even get through the hyper-partisan pandemonium of a primary. But what about the 35 percent from either party who vote straight party in a general election? It’s tricky, but you can vote straight ticket and still split your vote for a specific candidate. “He’ll probably set up his own political party to fundraise,” said the Dem. “The party affiliation is at the state level. People want access to the person,” noting that people were supportive of Whitmer, but still voted for incoming President Donald Trump (R). And a little digging by Bridge Michigan shows that a nonprofit, Put Michigan First, affiliated with W. Alan Wilk, an attorney who worked with Duggan’s previous campaigns, was incorporated in June 2023. Someone was thinking ahead.