Republican field grows in Michigan governor race
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Perry Johnson meets voters in 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Businessman Perry Johnson joined the crowded Michigan governor's race Monday, bringing with him a sizable war chest and a promise to eliminate the state income tax.
Why it matters: Johnson faces a steep path to victory, but his candidacy adds an entrepreneurial focus to one of the country's most closely watched governor's races.
State of play: Other GOP gubernatorial candidates include U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, former state House Speaker Tom Leonard, former Attorney General Mike Cox and current state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt of Porter Township.
Zoom in: Johnson ran for governor four years ago and failed to make the ballot. He also ran for president.
- This time, the 78-year-old Oakland County businessman has a 14-person campaign team and $9 million of his own money to spend in the next two months on advertising and other means to amplify his message, the Detroit News reported.
What they're saying: It's unlikely that other high-profile candidates, like James and former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who's running as an independent, will adjust their campaign strategies in response to Johnson's announcement.
- It's more likely that that Johnson will force other GOP candidates to grapple with his views on wasteful government spending and scrapping the income tax, Oakland University political science professor David Dulio tells Axios.
- "I think what he can certainly do is make it uncomfortable for the other (GOP) candidates in the race."
Flashback: Johnson's persona brings to mind former Gov. Rick Snyder's 2010 campaign as a political outsider who had the business sense to be the state's CEO.
Yes, but: "Donald Trump has remade the Republican primary electorate, and I'll be very curious to see if the businessperson-outsider model still plays well in a Republican Party that is more populist, more working-class, and just a different beast than it was," Dulio says.
What's next: Michigan's primary election is Aug. 4 and the general election is Nov. 3.
Other Republicans running for governor:
James: Considered the Republican front-runner, James is a combat veteran and Trump ally who was first elected to Congress in 2022.
- James has strong name recognition as a sitting officeholder. The wealthy DeVos family also set up a $5 million political action committee on his behalf, per the News.
Leonard: The former House speaker's campaign advocates for more civility in politics, a gradual phase-out of the state income tax and greater government accountability through expansion of the state's Freedom of Information Act.
- He also recently called on state lawmakers to end tax breaks for data centers.
Cox: The former attorney general favors the income tax's elimination and wants to reinstate a so-called "right-to-work" law, Bridge Michigan reported.
Nesbitt: He served in the state House from 2011 to 2016 and as Michigan's lottery commissioner before being elected to the state Senate to represent an area west of Kalamazoo.
- Nesbitt has touted his support for Trump, preservation of the state's farmland and lower taxes.