Duggan, in stunner, to end bid for governor

Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is ending his independent bid for governor in a shocking announcement that completely recasts the race to become Michigan’s 50^th governor.

Sources, speaking on background, said those inside the Duggan camp are reaching out to allies to confirm he is dropping out of the race. Polling recently suggested Duggan was failing to catch on, or even seeing a dip in support, and sources said Duggan had concluded the Democratic momentum is too strong and that he no longer saw a path to victory.

An announcement, sources said, is expected at 11 a.m.

A nonprofit allied with Duggan, Put Progress First, had spent about $15 million on ads, but Duggan himself last week signaled concern that the race had begun shifting into a referendum on President Donald Trump and gasoline prices, making his message of fixing Lansing problematic.

So unexpected was his decision that news of it began spreading merely half an hour after his campaign announced its 27^th union endorsement

Duggan’s candidacy will end much as it began: with a jolt to Michigan’s political observers who’d been wondering since the former mayor’s December 2024 announcement whether he would be able to overcome the hurdles faced by third-party candidates and which major party candidate he would potentially spoil a general election turnout for.

Just last week, Duggan spoke optimistically to supporters at a Lansing Regional Chamber event about what the next several months of the campaign would hold, stating he was prepared to “come home” to metro Detroit after spending months outstate.