The race to replace Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is crowded on both sides. 

Whitmer, a Democrat and potential 2028 presidential contender, is term-limited. The current Democratic primary contenders are Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist; Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson; Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson; and Marni Sawicki, the former mayor of Cape Coral, Florida.

The crowded Republican field includes Rep. John James, Michigan Senate Minority Leader Sen. Aric Nesbitt, former Michigan House Speaker Tom Leonard, former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and Anthony Hudson, a truck driver who ran for Congress in Michigan’s 8th District in 2024. If elected, either Gilchrist or James would be the state’s first Black governor.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a Democrat, is also running for governor but as an independent candidate, potentially throwing a wrench into the dynamics of what is expected to be one of the closest and most competitive 2026 governor’s races. 

Michigan has long been a key swing state — and a pipeline for women leaders — where control of the governor’s office has switched between Democratic and Republican over the last 40 years. Former President Joe Biden won the state by 2.8 points in 2020. In 2024, Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin won her election to the U.S. Senate by just 0.3 points while President Donald Trump carried the state by 1.4 points. 

In all, 36 governorships are up in 2026. Five Democratic-led states won by Trump in 2024 (Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) are holding elections for governor in 2026, while two Republican governors in states won by former Vice President Kamala Harris (New Hampshire and Vermont) are up for reelection.