The Michigan Republican Party announced that three debates will be held for the GOP candidates seeking their party’s nomination for the governorship. Michigan Republican Party Chair Sen. Jim Runestead (White Lake), announced the debates with hope they will give voters across Michigan a chance to hear the candidates’ respective platforms directly from the candidates themselves. The debates will be held on October 29th in Sparta, November 4th in Roseville, and November 18th in Traverse City. The participants are as follows:

• U.S. Rep. John James
• State Senator Aric Nesbitt
• Former Speaker of the House Tom Leonard
• Former attorney general Mike Cox
• Pastor Ralph Rebandt
• AxMITax leader Karla Wagner
• Anthony Hudson

The 2026 primary and general elections are still over a year away but that is not stopping political movers from announcing candidacies and endorsements in hopes of shaking up the political makeup of Michigan. Here are a few new and familiar names worth mentioning:

¶Gubernatorial

• Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D-Detroit)
• Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II (D-Detroit)
• Chris Swanson (D-Fenton) - Genesee County Sheriff
• U.S. Representative John James (R-Shleby Township)
• Former Attorney General Mike Cox (R-Livonia)

¶Secretary of State

• Monica Yatooma (R-Oakland County) – Executive committee member of the Oakland County Republican Party
• Former State Senator Adam Hollier (D-Detroit) – Announced he is dropping out of the U.S. House Race for the 13th District to instead run for Secretary of State
• Articia Bomer (R-Detroit) – Previously ran in elections for Detroit City Clerk (disqualified, 2025), Wayne County Sheriff (2024), Governor (2022), Congress (2020), Michigan House of Representatives (2018), and Mayor of Detroit (2016)

¶U.S. Senate

• Current U.S. Representative Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham)
• Current State Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak)
• Former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed (D-Ann Arbor)
• Former U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) – Current polling has Rogers leading by a far margin against other declared GOP candidates

¶U.S. House

4th District

• Current State Senator Sean McCann (D-Kalmazoo)
• Jessica Swartz (D-Kalamazoo)
• Diop Harris (D-Battle Creek)

7th District

• Incumbent U.S. Representative Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte)
• Bridget Brink (D-Lansing)
• Josh Cowen (D-Williamston)
• William Lawrence (D-Lansing)
• Matt Maasdam (D-Ann Arbor)

10th District

• Mayor of Pontiac Tim Greimel (D-Rochester Hills)
• Christina Hines (D-Warren)
• Eric Chung (D-Sterling Heights)
• Former Prosecutor Robert Lulgjuraj (R-Sterling Heights) – Recently entered the race
• Of Note: Captain Michael Bouchard (R-Rochester Hills) – currently deployed overseas in the U.S. Army – has received endorsements from former Attorney General Bll Schuette and former-Gov. John Engler, despite the fact that he has not yet announced a campaign

11th District

• Current State Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Bloomfield Township)
• Aisha Farooqi (D-Sterling Heights) – Previously ran for Michigan House district 57 in 2022 and 2024
• Don Ufford (D-Bloomfield Village)

13th District

• Incumbent U.S. Representative Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit)
• Current State Representative Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit)

¶Michigan Senate

2nd District

• Current State Representative Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn)
• Current State Representative Tullio Liberati Jr (D-Allen Park)

3rd District

• John Conyers III (D-Detroit) – previously ran for U.S. House of Representatives 13th District

5th District

• Current State Representative Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth)

7th District

• Current State Representative Jason Hoskins (D-Southfield) – running to replace term-limited Sen. Jeremy Moss

10th District

• Current State Representative Natalie Price (D-Berkley)
• Amanda Treppa (D-Royal Oak)

13th District

• Sean Carlson (D-Commerce Township)

15th District

• Former State Representative Felicia Brabec (D-Ann Arbor)

19th District

• Current State Representative Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo)

20th District

• Kenny Clevenger (R-Casco Township)

22nd District

• Mike Murphy (R-Howell)

23rd District

• Current State Representative Donni Steele (R-Orion)

29th District

• Current State Representative Phil Skaggs (D-East Grand Rapids)

30th District

• Incumbent State Senator Mark Huizenga (R-Walker)
• Current State Representative Carol Glanville (D-Walker)
• Richard Kreuzer (D-Grand Rapids)

32nd District

• Rebecca Amidon (D-Manistee)
• Jay Kilgo (D-Muskegon)
• Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole (R-Ludington) – running to replace term limited Sen. Jon Bumstead (R-North Muskegon)

33rd District

• Current State Representative Gina Johnsen (R-Portland) – seen as the early favorite with endorsements by numerous senators and other republican officials
• Current State Representative Joseph Fox (R-Fremont)
• Kent County Commissioner Katie DeBoer (R-Rockford)

35th District (Special Election)

• Christian Velasquez (R-Midland)
• Dr. Martin Blank (D-Saginaw) – A surgeon and former Republican candidate, announced he is switching parties to run as a Democrat
• Of Note: Current State Representative Timmy Beson (R-Bay City) has expressed interest in running.
• Of Note: Current State Representative Bill G. Schuette has decided not to run for the 35th district Senate race, instead running for reelection in the House

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has called for a special election to fill the vacant 35th District Senate seat, which has remained vacant since January when Kristen McDonald Rivet took office in the U.S. House of Representatives and resigned from her State Senate position. District 35 covers parts of the Bay, Midland, and Saginaw counties and is considered a top battleground seat in Michigan. In the 2022 Michigan Senate election, the seat flipped when Democrat McDonald Rivet defeated Republican then-state Representative Annette Glenn with 53.4% of the vote.

Whitmer hopes the special election will yield a state senator that collaborates with her executive office to create more jobs, grow the economy, and boost literacy rates. The special primary election is to be held on February 3, 2026, with the general election to follow on May 5, 2026.