(The Center Square) – Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II announced Monday morning he is suspending his 2026 campaign for governor to run for secretary of state.
Gilchrist did not give a specific reason for the decision.
“I’m a public servant, an entrepreneur, a dad, a husband, and an engineer who spent a lot of my life making the government actually work for people. I’m not done with that, not by a long shot,” he said on social media. “Today, I am declaring my candidacy for Secretary of State of Michigan.”
Gilchrist was first elected as lieutenant governor in 2019. Since declaring his candidacy last year, he has struggled to take the lead in the race for governor.
Current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has had the fundraising edge and establishment support in the race, with October numbers showing she had $2.98 million in cash on hand compared to Gilchrist’s $378,000.
With Gilchrist stepping out of the race Benson now firmly holds the lead in the 2026 gubernatorial Democrat primary race. It will be a critical race for the swing state and one of five governorships Democrats are defending in states President Donald Trump, a Republican, won in 2024.
Gilchrist left the door open to possibly running for governor at another time.
“The time for me to serve in that role may come, but now is not that time,” he said in a video posted to social media.
As for the secretary of state race, which Gilchrist is now joining, he will face off against four other Democrats. Instead of a primary election for this seat, Michigan holds party conventions in the spring where each respective party nominates their candidate.
The Michigan Democratic Party convention is scheduled for April 19, while the Michigan Republican Party’s is scheduled for March 28.
Gilchrist laid out his secretary of state platform, which is firmly anti-Trump.
“You sounded the alarm about this president who acts like a king. And you know, Michigan has been ground zero in the battle for free and fair elections before, and it will be again,” Gilchrist said. “This tangled web of corruption and control is meant to crush our power to participate. We have to fix this.”
