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Congressman John James
Republican Congressman John James is expected to run for governor in 2026 and receive President Donald Trump's endorsement, a Republican source familiar with the situation tells Deadline Detroit.
"John James is definitely running for governor, and he's putting together a great team. He expects to get Trump's endorsement, which should clear out the field," said the source, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "People are going to run against him, but how are they going to win?"
James did not immediately respond to a request for comment via text on Wednesday.
In the end, the benefit of a Trump endorsement for 2026 could depend on Trump's popularity at the time of the election.
Some speculate that Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's run for governor as an Independent could hurt Democrats and give Republicans a better shot at winning.
On Tuesday, Tudor Dixon posted on X that she's considering running for governor or Senate. Whitmer defeated her 54.5 percent to 43.9 percent in the 2022 governor’s race.
Some political observers believe she made a fatal mistake in 2022 by opposing abortion even in cases of rape, telling Fox 2:
“I’ve talked to those people who were the child of a rape victim and the bond that those two people made. And the fact that out of that tragedy, there was healing through that baby. It’s something that we don’t think about because we assume that that story is someone who was taken from the front yard then returned."
James has won by slim margins in both of his congressional races.
In 2022, he defeated Democratic challenger Carl Marlinga, 159,202 to 157,602, or 48.80 percent to 48.31 percent. In a 2024 rematch, James performed better, beating Marlinga 51.1 percent to 45 percent, or 217,437 votes to 191,363.
