SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — On Thursday, Genessee County Sheriff Chris Swanson launched a run for Michigan governor. He kicked off his campaign in Flint.
The Democrat has almost three decades of law enforcement experience. He joins Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who is running as an independent and was first to announce. State Sen. Republican Aric Nesbitt was the second to announce his run. Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson then announced her run.
When asked if the gubernatorial race is something she's thinking about, voter Natalie Johnson replied, "Absolutely. It's important."
"The way everything is going right now, we need someone who is for us," Johnson said.
However, voter Renard Welton said, “It’s too early. I mean, it’s gonna be a lot of folks jumping in. It’s too early to even think about it. When I see ‘em or somebody decides they're gonna run, I say ‘OK.’”
Voter Cliff Johnson said, “I was thinking about it when I heard Jocelyn was running. I was saying, ‘OK, very good' 'cause she did a really good job during everything that was going on before, so I really like her. But I really like Gilchrist too, so I hope he throws his hat in the ring.”
For expert insight, 7 News Detroit spoke with University of Michigan professor Jonathon Hanson. He's a political scientist at the Ford School of Public Policy.
“I have to say, it’s hard to predict how all of this will come out. It will be a very interesting set of primaries and then a general election to watch," Hanson said.
7 News Detroit asked the professor how Sen. Gary Peters' decision to not run for reelection to the U.S. Senate might affect Michigan's gubernatorial race.
"Well, the decision of Gary Peters to not run for reelection was something of a surprise. It did affect the dynamics of the governor’s race quite a bit because suddenly, several people who were potentially interested in running for governor turned their attention to the Senate race," Hanson explained
Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and possibly state Sen. Mallory McMorrow are among those individuals.
Related video: What Gary Peters stepping aside means for Michigan's 2026 Senate race
Hanson said the timing of an announcement to run matters for a number of reasons.
"I think that in a situation where we’re expecting a quite competitive primary race, there’s definitely an advantage to get your campaign organization going sooner rather than later because you really need to build that name recognition and the campaign organization to get out the vote," he explained.
Hanson went on to say that garnering name recognition and votes early is key, considering the vote could be split several different ways in this race. Of course, early campaigning also helps with fundraising.
