Detroit Mayor Carves a New Path

BY JOHN MCCORMICK

DETROIT—One of the nation’s most popular big-city mayors says he can’t be a Democrat any longer and is instead trying to prove Elon Musk’s suggestion that America needs another option to the two major parties.

Mike Duggan, this city’s mayor since 2014, ditched his longtime party in December and is running for Michigan governor as an independent.

“The left wing of the Democratic Party has never been a fan of mine,” he said in an interview overlooking this city’s growing skyline.

It is a long-shot bid in one of the nation’s most closely divided swing states, but Duggan has faced doubters before. He won his first mayoral primary as a write-in candidate and brought Detroit back to vibrancy following the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

If he were to win as a Democrat, Duggan said, he wouldn’t have been able to get anything done because of hyper partisanship in both parties. He said his mayoral support of certain pro-business projects that delivered jobs and helped neighborhoods upset some progressives.

“The identity of the Democratic Party is we hate Republicans in general and we hate Donald Trump specifically,” he said. “That is the only unifying principle of the Democratic Party today. They disagree on everything else.”

Duggan, 67, said both parties are dramatically different from when he was growing up as the son of a federal judge.

“He was a proud Republican: stand up to the Russians, balance the budget, cut taxes,” he said of his father. “The Re--publican Party doesn’t stand for those things today, and the Democratic Party used to be focused on leveling the playing field for the blue-collar workers and for people in the rural areas. Today, those folks don’t think the Democratic Party speaks for them at all.”

Unaffiliated trend

Americans are increasingly registering as unaffiliated voters who don’t identify with any party. Both major parties are viewed negatively by a majority of Americans, but the Democratic brand is in especially bad shape. The most recent Wall Street Journal poll showed the party’s image at its lowest point in the news organization’s surveys dating back to 1990, with 63% of voters holding an unfavorable view of the party.

Duggan has raised $3.2 million in direct contributions so far this year, more than any other candidate in the race. That number was posted even though his campaign had to create its own online fundraising portal—after initially using PayPal—because as an inde--pendent he couldn’t access the party platforms.

Democrats have pointed out that some of Duggan’s donors are Republicans with ties to President Trump. They include auto-racing legend Roger Penske, founder and chairman of Penske Corp., and Ronald Weiser, a former Mich-igan Republican Party chair --man.

Duggan is a longtime Trump critic, although he is shying away from such criticism now. In the interview, he said he voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris because he thought she was “a better choice.”

Early polling commissioned by the Detroit Regional Chamber shows Duggan with the support of 22% of registered voters in a hypothetical matchup against front-runners Republican Congressman John James and Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

Asked if he would exit the race in the fall of 2026 if he is trailing the Democratic nominee, Duggan said: “I’m hoping that the Democrat gets out.”

Duggan isn’t alone among former Democrats running as independents ahead of the 2026 elections. Todd Achilles of Idaho and Brian Bengs of South Dakota are former Democrats running for the U.S. Senate as independents, but are competing in deeply red states.

Cooled on Musk

Musk, now feuding with Trump after their bromance broke, has said he would create a new political entity called the America Party. The world’s richest man was the largest 2024 election-cycle donor— spending close to $300 million to help Trump and other Republicans.

Duggan initially offered some online flirtation with Musk after the billionaire’s suggestions of a new political party, but the mayor has since backed away from him.

No Labels, the centrist group that sought to back a third-party presidential candidate in 2024 before backing away from the idea, is looking at supporting Duggan. If that were to happen, the mayor could gain access to a nationwide network of donors and volunteers.

Duggan said he doesn’t intend to endorse any other candidates in the state and is trying to campaign in a fiercely nonpartisan way. “The ground is rumbling under the feet of both parties and they can’t feel it because they are so busy shouting at each other,” he said.