Pollster: Independent candidate Duggan may be a monkey wrench in governor's race

LANSING (FOX 2) - A veteran state pollster believes Michigan Democrats should be worried that Independent Party candidate Mike Duggan is doing well in the race for governor.

If Duggan does not win, his candidacy could result in a Republican becoming the next governor.

By the numbers:

In a possible race between Democrat Jocelyn Benson, former GOP candidate for governor Dick Devos and Duggan, the mayor of Detroit does not win, but could damage the Dems.

Epic-MRA pollster Bernie Porn says when you look at other data, there are reasons the Democrats should be worried.

That's because Duggan is getting 23% of the Democratic vote, 21% of the GOP vote and 31% of the independent vote.

Plus, he leads in Macomb and Wayne counties and is virtually tied in Oakland County with Secretary of State Benson.

The pollster says if those numbers hold for Duggan, the Republicans might win the governorship as he takes votes away from whomever the Democratic candidate is.

"That spells that I think the prospects of him, if he does not win, he is pushing the race to the Republican, whoever that Republican may be," Porn said.

Big picture view:

Meanwhile, the presumed early front-runner in the Democratic Primary, Benson, has her own challenges, according to Porn.

Even though she has run successfully for statewide office twice, 29% of the voters don't know who she is, and he thinks her numbers should be higher.

"Yes, they should be much higher," Porn said. "She is not doing as well among Democrats as she should be doing, and having a 31% tie, I think she could be facing some of the same difficulties that secretary of state office holders have had in the past."

Devos ran for governor in 2006 against Jennifer Granholm and lost - but 31% of the voters don't remember who he is.

There is good news for the candidates, according to Porn. Voters aren't thinking about who the next governor is going to be.

"This is still very early in terms of the 2026 election, and in an off-year they're probably not thinking all that much as to who that governor is going to be," Porn said.

However, given the showing Duggan has made in this survey, it may not be time for the Democratic to push the panic button, but maybe they should be warming up, Porn says.

"Your finger ought to be prepared to push the panic button, if things continue in terms of the level of support that Mike Duggan is receiving," he said.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan