Republican Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, launched a bid to succeed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Tuesday.
“As governor, I will put Michigan first by supporting taxpayers over the woke left, empowering parents, keeping families safe, and standing with President Trump to revive our manufacturing industry and Make Michigan Great Again,” Nesbitt said in a statement.
The 44-year-old Republican grew up on a farm and has a long career in Republican politics. He was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2010, serving three terms in the chamber. He was elected to the Michigan Senate in 2018. When Democrats flipped that chamber from Republican to Democratic control in the 2022 election for the first time in 40 years, his fellow GOP lawmakers tapped him to serve as the Senate Republican Leader.
As part of his announcement to run for governor, a video shared in a news release shows him driving and pointing at the home and farm where he grew up in Lawton in southwest Michigan, pushing his children on a swing set, with his wife, and firing guns outside as he narrates his promise to protect the 2nd Amendment. “Michiganders deserve so much better than what they’re getting from these Democrats up in Lansing,” he says. His attacks on Democrats include the false claim that Whitmer is giving free housing to immigrants in the U.S. illegally. According to the Office of Global Michigan, which administers Michigan’s rental subsidy program for newcomers, the federal government must determine that those who receive housing help must be legally allowed in the country.
Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox — another Republican — said late last year that he is mulling a gubernatorial run.
Michigan Politics:Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox mulls gubernatorial run
No major Democratic candidate has announced a gubernatorial bid. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a longtime Democrat, opted instead to run as an independent candidate, skipping a potentially crowded and contentious primary field. Duggan’s decision infuriated some Democrats and shocked many longtime political observers.
The next governor will take office in 2027 after Whitmer’s term expires. To qualify for the ballot, candidates for governor must submit petitions with a certain number of voter signatures.
Contact Clara Hendrickson atchendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.
