MI-GOV: Michigan race for governor starts the year deadlocked, new poll finds

Lansing — Michigan is poised to see its closest race for governor in at least a decade, with both parties starting 2026 neck and neck and independent candidate Mike Duggan gaining ground, according to the first election-year poll commissioned by The Detroit News and WDIV-TV (Channel 4).

The Jan. 2-6 telephone survey of 600 likely general election voters was a mixed bag for Duggan and Michigan Democrats and Republicans, offering some reasons for optimism and clear risks ahead for all sides, about 10 months before Election Day.

In one potential matchup, about 34% of participants said they would vote for Republican U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, 32% chose Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of Detroit and 26% backed Duggan, the former mayor of Detroit. The result was within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, and 8% of participants said they were undecided.

Richard Czuba, founder of the Glengariff Group, the firm that conducted the poll, acknowledged that it is difficult to know how an independent candidate's performance in a survey converted to actual votes in an election because Michigan hasn't had a well-known independent contender before.



https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/13/michigan-race-for-governor-polling-john-james-jocelyn-benson-mike-duggan/88134923007/