'Goddamn miracle worker' from Detroit reframes politics, peels away voters in race for Mich. governor as independent
Swing voters explain the pull of Mike Duggan
Never underestimate a guy who won the race of his career with a write-in campaign.
Mike Duggan is used to making history doing things his own way.
After he crushed Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon by 20 points in a 2013 primary bid, Duggan went on to become the first white mayor in the majority-Black city since Roman Gribbs in 1970.
America knows Duggan as a man who helped lead the city out of bankruptcy, taking it from a tourism magnet for so-called “ruin porn” photography that featured destruction and hopelessness to must-visit status in Fodor’s Travel in 2024. Two months later, Detroit stunned the NFL with its record-smashing attendance of more than 775,000 at the NFL Draft celebration and few arrests.
While the rest of the world gave up on Detroit, Detroit refused to give up on itself.
Duggan returned to office with landslide election victories. He spent 12 years running the city as its 75th mayor. Some observers compare him to Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor in New York who didn’t need the job but wanted to help New Yorkers. Many Detroit residents and business owners admitted privately they were stunned (and worried) after Duggan announced his plan to leave — and seek higher office.
At 67, Duggan isn’t finished fighting.
Now he’s drawing national attention as a politician who — like New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani — may cut a path to victory despite disrupting political mores.
Duggan is executing a tireless statewide campaign as an independent. He wants to distance himself from partisan politics toxicity, he said — while at the same time avoiding a Democratic primary fight; his success has been based on bipartisan support.
Democrats privately fear Duggan will split the vote and deliver victory to a weak Republican candidate who couldn’t win without a three-way matchup.
Yet state lawmakers from both sides of the aisle now pepper Duggan’s political website with endorsements, listed by name and no party affiliation.
Chambers of commerce appear beside labor unions that represent police officers, firefighters, postal workers, pipefitters, stagehands, carpenters, millwrights, roofers, bartenders, housekeepers, casino workers and truckers.
Bill Ford Jr., executive chair of Ford Motor Co., great-grandson of the company founder, and a key investor in Detroit’s resurrection, immediately announced his support for Duggan. Ford’s vision for Michigan Central has transformed the skeletal remains of an iconic train station into a breathtaking global attraction.
Status: It’s complicated
Caroline Solar, a political polling researcher at The New York Times, says Mike Duggan “complicates the race” for governor of Michigan.
He’s not just a metro Detroit phenom. I get asked about Duggan almost everywhere I go when traveling the state, from Grosse Ile to Tahquamenon Falls, writing about cars or sailing or tourism.
Duggan will be on the ballot in November 2026, where he’ll likely face Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, and Congressman John James, a Republican. Benson has defended election integrity in court while under attack from President Trump and the GOP. Meanwhile, James won his seat in Congress as a top financial priority for President Trump and winning control of the U.S. House in 2022.
Duggan is a very real threat to the status quo, according to polling in Michigan. “I’m beating all the major party candidates on favorability, name ID. All of the gains came from out state,” he told me.
During the past five days, I overheard five very different people I know mention Duggan. I wanted to know why. Their interviews offered a valuable snapshot in time.
These are unfiltered thoughts about Duggan from Michigan swing voters.
Mara, victims’ rights advocate
Mara McCalmon, 59, of Fort Gratiot is undecided but finds Duggan interesting.
“I’m really looking for a candidate who is not motivated by his party but motivated by the people — and motivated by what’s right, based on truth. I’m so tired of partisan politics. I see it everywhere. Detroit is not completely turned around but has had some definite movement in making it a more welcoming city. I grew up in Warren. I have been going to Detroit since age 5 — to the auto show, Lafayette Coney Island, Greektown and Hart Plaza … Woodward Avenue was broken glass and boarded up shops. At Christmas this year, I walked up and down Woodward and all around and shopped. It was amazing. I’ve seen change. Is it perfect? No. It paves the way for the next person.”
McCalmon is a mother, grandmother and wife whose first husband was stabbed to death in their Yale home. McCalmon survived her stab wounds and founded “P.S. You’re my Hero,” a non-profit that provides support for crime victims in St. Clair County through counseling, rent and utility assistance, medical bills or food vouchers while attending court hearings.
Kim, hairstylist
Kim Biscornor lives in Clyde Township and remembers the promises Duggan made when running for mayor. She followed him from afar because family worked in Detroit.
“I liked everything he had to say. He seemed so down to earth, common sense. He wanted to work for the people and make the city better. Once we really got tuned into him, we thought Duggan should be running for president of the United States. Did he not just check off everything on his list that he said he was going to do? He pretty much did,” she said.
“I would definitely vote for him because I think he did a fabulous job in Detroit and he should keep climbing the ladder politically. I’m all about somebody who follows through — who says they’re going to do something and they do it. That’s the one who gets my vote.”
George, retired federal law enforcement officer
George Krappmann, 58, of Clarkston, is “a middle-of-the-road guy who leans right in his views” and is uncommitted.
“I want to see what they all have to say. This is going to be an important election for the State of Michigan,” Krappmann said. “I saw Detroit when Detroit was not very appealing for visitors … hanging banners on abandoned buildings. But I saw what Duggan did for Detroit and how well he did it.”
Krappmann, now director of safety and security at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, watches up close the transformative impact of investment in young musicians in the city. His daughter is hoping to attend medical school at Wayne State University.
While the mayoral accomplishments are impressive, Krappmann said, Duggan has also been a county prosecutor and CEO of Detroit Medical Center. “His resume speaks for itself. Duggan just seems like somebody who can’t be bought.”
Barb, retired credit collector and sailor
Barb Fochtman, 87, of Fort Gratiot, describes herself as a “strong Democrat” born and raised in Detroit, who can’t wait to see Duggan when he visits Port Huron. “He’s got my vote because I like the job he did in Detroit. He is a white man in a mostly Black community and I just find that positive. I just like everything I’ve heard about him.”
Ken Meyer, farmer and hunter
Meyer, 66, of Columbus, considers himself a far-right Christian conservative who will not vote a straight-party ticket like his friends. Meyer grew up in Sterling Heights but spent much of his childhood with grandparents in Detroit. His mom went to Denby High and dad attended Cass Tech.
“Anybody who’s old enough to know Detroit since the ‘60s knows that Duggan is a goddamn miracle worker,” Meyer said. “Some great people have tried and it always ended up the same. Everything was boarded up. You could go to Greektown and had to stay in Greektown. Same thing with Mexicantown. On two separate occasions, I was forced to defend my wife and I. We were with friends walking one block from the Bouzouki Lounge to Trapper’s Alley, two guys jumped out and wanted our money.”
People from all over Michigan consider themselves Detroiters. Either they lived in the city or their parents or their grandparents or their great-grandparents did. People who moved away still feel connected and follow Detroit politics.
“I thought (Dennis) Archer would do a good job but he couldn’t get anyone to work with him. I thought Kwame (Kilpatrick) would do great stuff, with his mom being in government and all,” and he ended up in prison, Meyer said. “Everybody failed but Duggan. I had no hope for Duggan. I thought, ‘No way. He’ll get nothing done. Nobody will work with him.’ But he got everyone to work with him somehow.”
Detroit has turned into a metropolis — with new housing, grocery stores, good restaurants and coffee houses, low crime, Meyer said. “Now you can walk around when you go see a play, go to the opera house. Everything has changed since Duggan.”
No one associates the success in Detroit with politics, just performance, Meyer said.
“Duggan stays right in the middle (politically) and works with everybody to make the city better,” Meyer said. “I like John James a lot but he hasn’t done anything. Duggan turned a virtual shithole into a great place to go for dinner.”
Meyer emphasized, “Old guys get shit done.”
Bad experiences will never be forgotten but they’re crowded out by new memories.
“Before Duggan, I couldn’t take my car down and park it. I had half a dozen friends who had cars stolen in Detroit,” Meyer said. “The other day, I walked around Michigan Central in Corktown, visited tiny houses, had lunch. We stay at the Godfrey hotel. I just walked from CrossFit in Detroit to Bucharest Grill on Michigan Avenue, probably two miles. Nobody has better shawarma. It’s night and day from what it was … It wasn’t safe 20 years ago. Now it’s packed down there. It can take me a year to get into a restaurant. Places in Detroit are crazy busy, like ‘Father Forgive Me,’ an old church they turned into a phenomenal restaurant. Our friend has a bodega on Cass Avenue. He lives in a $1 million condo. You could’ve bought the whole city for $1 million. I expect Duggan to win this race. If he runs Michigan like he ran Detroit, it would be great for everybody.”
Influential labor unions and ritzy communities make Michigan a frequent stop on the campaign circuit. Races for governor in Michigan always capture national attention.
The seat is now held by a Democrat (Gretchen Whitmer) who succeeded a Republican (Rick Snyder) who succeeded a Democrat (Jennifer Granholm) who succeeded a Republican (John Engler) who succeeded a Democrat (Jim Blanchard).
Duggan: ‘You don’t have to be angry’
I ran into Duggan at the Detroit Auto Show charity preview with his wife, Dr. Sonia Hassan, on Jan. 16. He had just finished a live radio interview with WJR. I asked a lot of questions, including why he’s running as an independent.
He said, “I was just up in New Baltimore the other night at a place called ‘The New (Upscale) Dive Bar.’ The place was packed. There are smiles because Republicans and Democrats are in the same room talking about problems. I’ve got the one campaign where … you don’t have to be angry at somebody else.”
“Everywhere I go, people are tired of politics as usual. They are tired of the Republicans and Democrats fighting each other and not solving their problems. Farmers have got problems not being addressed. The schools in these small communities have got problems not being addressed. Harbors are crumbling, not being addressed,” Duggan said. “People don’t want to talk about Trump in Washington. They want to talk about why Lansing isn’t solving their problems. I’m not having any trouble getting people to sign up.”
Duggan: ‘We healed the divisions’
On the campaign trail, Duggan said, he’s especially proud of four things: $10 billion in investment in Detroit in the last 12 years, 30,000 (new) jobs, a beautiful riverfront and the lowest violence rate since the 1960s. “You don’t have to tell anyone in southeastern Michigan. I don’t have to campaign. People here know what happened when we healed the divisions and pulled everybody together.”
Duggan spent the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday at Forgotten Harvest food bank in Oak Park volunteering with his wife and son. No press event.
Within 10 days, Duggan’s schedule includes a chamber event in Flint, a meet-and-greet in Grand Rapids, a policy conference in Traverse City, a meet-and-greet in Flint, a chamber lunch and radio interview in Port Huron, and a meet-and-greet in Kalamazoo. Sundays (in theory) are rest days.
Finally, I asked Duggan, how does being mayor of Detroit prep someone to be governor of a state as vast and diverse as Michigan? He said, “Running a $2 billion operation with 9,000 employees, people saw what happened. I came in when the city was in bankruptcy and I’m leaving with $500 million in surpluses and reserves. I think people across the state can appreciate that kind of management.”
If elected, Duggan would become the only U.S. governor not affiliated with the Democratic or Republican parties.
More:
Mind-bending museum of optical illusions and immersive adventure opens in Detroit
Even the Swiss are talking about Detroit
From mink to Ferrari to sipping champagne: This is Detroit
Note: Phoebe Wall Howard’s family has had a presence in Detroit since the 1860s. She covered local, state and national politics as a newspaper reporter in Iowa, Arkansas and California.
I’m honored to be part of The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative — sort of a Heartland version of the New York Times, featuring political analysis, features and news. Check it out.
When Jef and I moved to Huntington Woods from Lansing almost 16 years ago, we toyed with the idea of moving into Detroit itself. But emergency response times were terrible, and we just couldn’t bring ourselves to be urban pioneers.
Kwame turned out to be a huge disappointment, and then the whole bankruptcy thing. We couldn’t figure out why Mike Duggan wanted to take on the challenge.
I’m glad he did. There’s still a lot of room for improvement in the city, but it’s night and day from 2010.
I’m interested in his plan for the state…
Michigan would never let you go, but if it was possible,I’d be forever grateful for you to relocate to Iowa. You and the IWC could create a media platform that would win every Pulitzer, every year.