Veteran Politician Mike Cox Joins Michigan’s 2026 Gubernatorial Race
Entering the political arena once more, former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has announced his candidacy for the 2026 governor’s race, joining a competitive lineup of Republican hopefuls. With Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer reaching her term limit, the race is heating up as candidates prepare to vie for the state’s top leadership position.
Mike Cox, who served as Michigan’s attorney general from 2003 to 2011, is no stranger to gubernatorial campaigns. He previously ran for governor towards the end of his second attorney general term but finished third in the Republican primary. This time, he is confident in a different outcome, launching his campaign with the slogan “Make Michigan Great Again.”
In his campaign video, Cox stated his intentions clearly: “I’ve protected people my entire life, fought and beat the worst of the worst. Let’s not stand by and let radical politicians or woke bureaucrats undermine us any longer.”
Cox’s entry into the race adds to the growing list of Republican candidates, including Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt and U.S. Representative John James. On the Democratic front, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II are competing, with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a former Democrat, running as an independent.
The Republican Party is eager to reclaim the governor’s office after Governor Whitmer’s eight-year tenure, during which Democrats controlled the state legislature from 2022 to 2024. While the GOP regained the state House in 2024, both legislative chambers are set for contention in the upcoming elections.
Before his career in public office, Cox served as a U.S. Marine Corps infantry rifleman and later became a prosecutor. His political journey includes a significant victory in 2002, when he defeated Democratic Senator Gary Peters to become Michigan’s first Republican attorney general in over four decades.
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