SAUGATUCK, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan Lawyer Common Mike Cox on Tuesday entered the 2026 governor’s race, including to a rising discipline of Republicans vying to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Cox served as lawyer common from 2003 to 2011. He launched a gubernatorial bid close to the tip of his second time period, ultimately coming in third within the Republican major.
Cox is hoping for a unique final result this time round, launching a bid Tuesday that he mentioned will “Make Michigan Great Again.”
“I’ve protected people my entire life, fought and beat the worst of the worst,” Cox mentioned in a marketing campaign video saying his run. “Let’s not stand by and let radical politicians or woke bureaucrats undermine us any longer.”
Cox joins Michigan Senate Republican Chief Aric Nesbitt and U.S. Rep. John James within the Republican major. On the Democratic facet, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II are going through off, with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan — previously a Democrat — operating as an impartial.
Republicans are aiming to retake the governor’s workplace after eight years underneath Whitmer, who held full Democratic management of the Legislature from 2022 to 2024 and swiftly superior her social gathering’s agenda. The GOP regained the state Home in 2024, however each legislative chambers might be up for grabs subsequent 12 months.
Cox served as a U.S. Marine Corps infantry rifleman earlier than changing into a prosecutor, based on his marketing campaign web site. He defeated Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in 2002 to turn out to be the state’s first Republican lawyer common in over 40 years.
