Donald Trump won, Gretchen Whitmer’s party lost, and Michigan is no longer a one-party state. Congrats!
I hope you’ve enjoyed these last two weeks, because now we need to talk about the future. The 2026 campaign is the biggest game of musical chairs in Michigan political history. It’s about to start, but Republicans don’t have enough players to make it competitive. Absent an infusion of talent, it’s tough to see how Republicans build on the Trump momentum.
Republicans need to do what Democrats have done with Elissa Slotkin, Mallory McMorrow, and Pete Buttigieg: Bring in a carpetbagger.
There’s still time, but there’s not much time. Slotkin only lived in Michigan about a year and a half before running for Congress in 2018 against Republican Mike Bishop. Despite Bishop’s incumbent status, and the fact Slotkin had never cast a vote in Michigan before, she won.
If you ask Slotkin where she went to high school, she can say Cranbrook. You might not love the place, but you know it. You’ve driven past it on Woodward. You’ve visited the art gallery. It’s a thing that exists in Michigan.
Ask McMorrow where she went to high school, and she’d name some place in New Jersey. She just spoke at the Democratic National Convention, has a memoir out next year, and a promising future if she can stay hydrated. Slotkin was just elected to the U.S. Senate. Buttigieg is considered a top contender in the governor’s race.
Carpetbagging only matters if you let it. Ask Mike Rogers.
If the Democrats have an embarrassment of riches heading into 2026—Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan all have designs on the governor’s office—then Republicans have a nearly empty cupboard. Out-of-state talent is the best way to fill it.
There are four big jobs to fill, and all require statewide races: governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and Gary Peters’s U.S. Senate seat. Peters is the only incumbent; the other three seats are wide open.
There are 13 U.S. House seats in Michigan, and this year, four of them were competitive. Republicans went 2-and-2 in those races, sending Tom Barrett to Congress and John James back to Washington.
Let’s say James pursues the governor’s office. That would put his Macomb County seat up for grabs, one that he worked for two cycles to build a fence around. James won his seat in a Democrat wave year, 2022. He beat a Macomb County legend, Carl Marlinga, by just 1,600 votes.
Democrats ran Marlinga again this year, but the sequel didn’t match up. James won the rematch by 26,000 votes. Would you unravel all that work, and all the relationships built in Washington, for the chance at a chance to be the big fish in little Lansing?
It’s easy to say, “James should…” But think it through and ask yourself why he would.
In Detroit, Duggan hit a masterstroke about a decade ago, when he started throwing annual “Homecoming” events.
Duggan inspired a sense of Detroit pride by letting the city’s ex-pats know their success is respected and their help in rebuilding the city is wanted.
It worked. Crain’s went from co-sponsoring the first Homecoming to hiring one of its guests, Ron Fournier, as top editor. This was a decade ago, but the model is still viable.
Michigan Republicans need a homecoming. If you are a native child of the Pleasant Peninsula who has built the character and profile that translate into electoral politics, don’t wait for the siren song of the Tim Allen voiceover.
Just take my word for it: Your services are required back home. We still have mile roads and all four seasons.
John Engler is not walking through that door. Will you?
James David Dickson is host of the Enjoyer Podcast. Join him in conversation on X @downi75.
