U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township) will not seek reelection to Congress in 2026, running instead for Michigan governor.

The two-term U.S. House member posted his announcement on social media Monday

“It’s time to get Michigan out of fantasyland and back to common sense,” he said. “President Trump and I have been in each other’s corner through thick and thin for eight years — no reason that will end now.”

In a statement, the Democratic Governors Association took aim at James’ support for Trump.

“John James has spent his time in Congress putting his own extreme partisan politics first, and now he’s running to bring the chaos and dysfunction of D.C. to Michigan,” said the DGA.

The 10th Congressional District encompasses southern Macomb County and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County. It is a swing district and James’ decision gives Democrats a larger hope of flipping it in November.

James is currently the only Black member of Michigan’s congressional delegation. He previously lost two successive runs for a U.S. Senate seat — the 2020 race by a narrow margin — before running for and winning a U.S. House seat.

State Senate Republican leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) and former U.S. House candidate Anthony Hudson have also announced they are seeking the GOP nomination. Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has also formed a campaign committee and 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon — who lost by more than 10 points — is considering another run for statewide office.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, cannot run again because of term limits.

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson are seeking the Democratic nomination in the August primary. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is also running as an independent. 

This week on MichMash, gubernatorial candidate and Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson sat down with Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben to share why he’s running and what he believes the Democratic Party needs moving forward.

Plus, Gorchow and Kasben analyze the recent collaboration — and conflicts — between Michigan’s Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• Quick update on Michigan’s 2025 legislative session
• How Michigan’s gubernatorial race is heating up
• Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson on what motivated him to run

Gorchow and Kasben quickly recapped the first few months of the 2025 legislative session and what issues have garnered bipartisan support and which have led Democratic and Republican lawmakers to butt heads.

“We are currently living through a time where the Senate is suing the House for not presenting bills to the governor for signature,” Kasben noted. “These are nine bills left over from last term, when Democrats did control the House, and the Republicans in the House are sending Senate Democrats items that are mostly just nonstarters, or at the very least, not really being negotiated with the Democrats.”

Sheriff Swanson — who was elected sheriff of Michigan’s fifth-largest county in 2020 — announced his bid for governor in February, joining a growing field of several other prominent candidates, including fellow Democrat and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan — who is running for governor as an independent. More recently, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist launched his Democratic bid, while on the Republican side, State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt also announced his candidacy, with U.S. Rep. John James also considered a possible contender.

Swanson says he considers the other candidates as simply alternative options, rather than his opponents.

“When I was working with the Biden administration and then I worked with the DNC and the Kamala Harris campaign, I saw the need of what Democrats are looking for…this community of Democrats, these voters, are looking for something completely different. I bring a completely different option. I bring a unique energy,” he said.

The race to succeed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is term limited, is expected to spark competitive primaries.

More from WDET:

• Garlin Gilchrist announces bid for governor, saying he’s a ‘problem solver’
• MichMash: Looking back on the state’s top political stories of 2024
• MichMash: State lawmakers return to Michigan Capitol for first day of new session

Tonight on The Detroit Evening Report, we cover Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II’s entry into the 2026 Michigan governor race; an upcoming panel highlight jessica Care moore, Tiff Massey and other women building connections between hip-hop, design and culture; and more.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Gilchrist makes bid for Michigan governor

Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist declared his candidacy for governor today.
Speaking live on WDET, Gilchrist said he’s the best candidate because he’s delivered for Michigan residents on issues such as housing.

“When I talk to people all across Michigan, including in the city of Detroit, who said that we didn’t have enough affordable housing and that there were not enough people who could afford homes in the city of Detroit, in the state of Michigan, I pushed millions of dollars of funding into our state’s housing trust fund that’s brought 60,000 new housing units online.”

Gilchrist says he’s proud of the work he’s done alongside Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who can’t run again due to term limits. Asked what he would do differently, he said Michigan needs a leader who can make technology such as artificial intelligence work for the people, not victimize them.  He joins Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson in the race for the Democratic Party nomination.

Reporting by Pat Batcheller, WDET

Panel to highlight women connecting design, culture and community

Panel on hip-hop and design Hip Hop Architecture Lecture Series is celebrating Women’s History Month

The University of Detroit Mercy will host a panel discussion celebrating Women’s History Month next Wednesday, March 19, as part of Michael Ford’s Hip Hop Architecture Lecture Series.

Detroit Poet Laureate jessica Care moore, Avalon Village Founder Mama Shu, interdisciplinary artist Tiff Massey, hip-hop artist Mama Sol, Hip-Hop Architecture Fellow Asia Williams, and Hip Hop Architecture Founder Michael Ford will participate in the discussion — which will center around women at the intersection of hip-hop culture and design.

The event, sponsored by Michigan Central, will begin at 6 p.m. with “Bites and Beats,” followed by the panel discussion at 7 p.m. inside U of D’s School of Architecture and Community Development. 

Pulitzer on the Road coming to Michigan Central

A group of Pulitzer Prize winners will gather at Michigan Central later this month to talk about the state of cultural criticism. Journalist, historian and Dean of Columbia School of Journalism Jelani Cobb will moderate the discussion. Detroit Free Press restaurant critic and 2023 Pulitzer finalist Lyndsay Green, film critic Justin Chang from the New Yorker and NPR’s Fresh Air, and New York Times pop culture critic Wesley Moore will be panelists. The free event — part of the Pulitzer on the Road will take place on Wednesday, March 26. The panel discussion starts at 6 p.m. and will be followed by a reception at 7:30 p.m. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Michigan Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II wants the top job in state government.

He has declared his candidacy for governor in 2026, seeking to succeed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She can’t run again because of term limits.

Gilchrist is seeking the Democratic Party nomination. He’s the third Democrat to enter the race. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson are also running.

He’s already had a taste of the job

Gilchrist carries out the governor’s duties whenever she leaves the state on official business. He says that experience, plus his background as an engineer, set him above other candidates.

“People are hungry for results,” Gilchrist said. “I’m a problem solver who’s created solutions.”

He cited Michigan’s housing crisis as an example.

“I pushed millions of dollars in funding into our state’s housing trust fund that’s brought 60,000 new housing units online,” Gilchrist said.

More: Jocelyn Benson launches campaign for governor

COVID response shaped his first term

Michigan confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 10, 2020. The disease has killed more than 40,000 people statewide, but those numbers have fallen steadily over time.

Whitmer picked Gilchrist to lead a task force on COVID’s disparate impact on people of color. He says he’s proud of the work they did.

“We set up 23 new neighborhood health centers in every region of the state,” he said. “That approach helped Michigan be the only state that even tried to deal with the disparity, let alone the state that actually solved it.”

Looking back, Gilchrist says he would have communicated pandemic information more aggressively.

“We got results when we did that,” he said.

Will he be different?

When reporters asked then-Vice President Kamala Harris how she’d be different from President Joe Biden, she initially said she couldn’t think of anything. Pundits have said that’s one reason why she lost the 2024 presidential election.

Gilchrist says he’s proud of the work he’s done alongside Whitmer but insists he won’t be a clone.

“I have different experiences and different relationships,” he said. “We’re going to build on that to make sure Michigan can lead the country and the world.”

An ally?

Progressives have criticized Whitmer and other party leaders for taking a centrist approach to dealing with far-right politicians. Moderates and conservatives argue that Democrats are too far to the left for mainstream voters. They suggest that topics like climate change and transgender rights turn off voters who care more about the economy and whether it’s working for them.

Gilchrist says he will always support the LGBTQ+ community, but added he wants to be a governor for everyone.

“They’re not interested in labels,” he said. “Too many Michiganders didn’t feel like Democrats across the board were pissed off enough about what’s happening in the status quo.”

The Duggan question

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is running for governor as an independent, breaking with the Democratic Party. He says most Michigan voters want someone other than a Democrat or a Republican.

That statement doesn’t square with history. Independent and third-party candidates rarely win elections but sometimes win enough votes to be spoilers.

More: Duggan will run for governor as an independent

Gilchrist wouldn’t comment on Duggan’s campaign. But he will reach out to independent voters.

“Whether you live in a county that Donald Trump won or a county that Kamala Harris won, you’re still a Michigander,” he said. “My job is to serve you.”