Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp.) at the Mackinac Policy Conference, May 30, 2024 | Anna Liz Nichols
In a video announcement Tuesday morning, Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp.) officially became the first Republican candidate to throw his hat into the ring for Michigan governor in 2026.
Nesbitt, who also launched a campaign website, staked out a traditional conservative message in the video, which begins with him showcasing his family farm near Lawton in southwest Michigan.
“We worked hard. That’s what my parents instilled in us kids; faith, patriotism, traditional family values, and that’s what Tricia and I are trying to instill in Katherine and William, and got a third one on the way. Just blessed with that,” said Nesbitt, referring to his pregnant wife and two children.
Nesbitt said that Democrats, led by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — who is term-limited — have led Michigan down the wrong path.
“Michiganians deserve so much better than what they’re getting from these Democrats up in Lansing. What we’ve seen is higher taxes, more spending, more debt, and less jobs,” he said, pitching the same line of attack against perceived electric vehicles mandates and illegal immigration that were part of Republicans’ successful 2024 campaigns.
Nesbitt also showcased his support for gun rights, with several scenes of him shooting both a pistol and a semiautomatic rifle.
“Defend our Second Amendment to protect our individual freedoms,” he says, closing out the video by referring to himself as a “small-town farm boy.”
Nesbitt, 44, previously served three terms in the state House, before briefly serving as the state’s lottery commissioner under Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. He stepped down from that role in 2018 to make his first run for state Senate.
Republican political consultant Dennis Darnoi told the Michigan Advance the announcement was well-timed.
“Given his [low] name recognition statewide, it makes a lot of sense for him to get in this early,” said Darnoi. “As someone who’s going to be term-limited and in the minority of the Senate, it gives him a relatively easy perch from which to start running and start building an organization as early as January 2025.”
Darnoi says Nesbitt has a good combination of very conservative voting credentials and a reputation for being policy-focused.
“He’s very interested in seeing things get done. He’s probably someone who could be successful in a primary,” he said.
Nesbitt is now the second candidate to announce for governor, with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan saying in December he would seek the office as an independent after being a lifelong Democrat. Republican former Attorney General Mike Cox, who is married to former Michigan GOP Chair Laura Cox, has formed a gubernatorial committee, but has yet to announce.
However, Darnoi says that in his mind, Mike Cox already is a candidate.
“In Michigan, we do not have exploratory committees, we only have candidate / ballot committees, so Mike Cox — assuming he has an active committee — is a candidate for governor. Whether he decides to run or not, whether he chooses to officially announce or not, that’s irrelevant. If he has an active committee then he is a candidate,” he said.
Other Republicans who could seek the GOP nomination include former gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon. Although Dixon lost to Whitmer in 2022, Darnoi says has built up a statewide following that could work for her to win the GOP nomination. The same is true, he says, for former state House Speaker Tom Leonard (R-DeWitt) — who twice unsuccessfully ran for attorney general — although Darnoi believes U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Twp.) may be best positioned to seek the nomination if he wants it.
“James is someone who has run twice statewide [for U.S. Senate] and while he wasn’t successful, he certainly built up a lot of brand loyalty,” said Darnoi. “I think he’s someone who could wait a little bit later in the game if he wanted to make an announcement and then all of a sudden see a lot of momentum come his way.”
While no Democrats have yet to officially announce a run for governor, several prominent officials are expected to be in the mix, including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who told the Detroit News on Monday that he wasn’t ruling out that possibility.
Over the weekend, Benson sent out an email to supporters with the subject line: “She’s running,” as Michigan Advance contributor Andrew Roth reported. The email later noted she was running another marathon.
Secretary of State @JocelynBenson’s campaign sent a fundraising email with the subject line: “She’s running.”
In the body of the email, they elaborate that she’s running her 34th marathon. (Benson has been widely speculated as a potential candidate for governor in 2026.)
— Andrew Roth (@RothTheReporter) January 12, 2025
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