Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is running for governor of the all-important swing state.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson became the first Democrat to announce her candidacy for governor in 2026 to succeed term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI). Benson announced her bid Wednesday morning,

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson becomes the first major Democratic candidate to launch a bid to be Michigan's next governor.

Ms. Benson, a Democrat, jumped into a high-profile and potentially crowded race to lead one of the country’s top battleground states.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson officially joined the race for governor. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is already running as an independent and Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt is also in the race with more expected to follow considering election day is still 22 months away.

The secretary of state is the first Democrat to announce a run for the seat, joining a field of three official candidates running for Michigan governor so far.

The Michigan Secretary of State race is underway as Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie announced his candidacy Monday to keep the office in Democrats’ hands. Edevbie is the first person of a major political party to announce they’re running to be Michigan’s top election official in the 2026 election,

Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie announced Monday that he plans to run for the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State in 2026