• 2026 is a midterm election year, and all of Michigan’s top state offices are up for grabs
• There is also the prospect of a constitutional convention on the ballot along with a slew of other potential proposals
• Democrats have fared well in recent midterm elections but Michigan has a tradition of switching gubernatorial parties every eight years

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Michigan voters will have a lot to decide in 2026, including a new governor, a US Senator and whether to rewrite the state’s constitution.

All of Michigan’s major statewide offices will be vacated at the end of the year due to term limits, and the pending retirement of US Sen. Gary Peters immediately made the race to replace him one of the most closely watched in the country.  

By fall, voters will decide races for:

• Governor
• Secretary of state
• Attorney general
• All 110 state House and 38 state Senate seats
• All 13 congressional seats
• Two Michigan Supreme Court seats
• Whether to hold a state constitutional convention
• Any other questions that make the ballot

President Donald Trump won’t be on the ballot in 2026, but he is sure to loom large as voters head to the polls halfway through his second term. 

The last two midterms have been wave elections for Michigan Democrats. 

In 2018, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wrested the state’s top offices from Republican control. Then, in 2022, they took control of the state Legislature from Republicans, creating the first Democratic trifecta in 40 years.

That trifecta was short-lived, however. Republicans reclaimed a state House majority in 2024 and are hoping to build on those gains next year. Whitmer, Nessel and Benson will all be termed out of office in Michigan, where voters tend to back candidates from the opposing party every eight years.

A three-way governor’s race 

Michigan is gearing up for what could be a historic gubernatorial election uniquely shaped by outgoing Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s decision to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent.

Third-party candidates routinely make the ballot but Duggan has shown, with sustained visibility and field-leading fundraising, that he intends to mount a serious challenge to Michigan’s major party-dominated system. Democrats and Republicans are both attacking him, an indication of the threat he poses.

At this early stage, there are clear front-runners for party nominations: Benson for Democrats and US Rep. John James for Republicans. But unlike Duggan, they’ll both face relatively crowded primaries that could be politically bruising. 

Early polling from Mitchell Research and Communications shows Benson and James each taking nearly 50% of the vote in their respective primaries, while their closest competitors had only a quarter as much support.

Among Republicans, other candidates include former Attorney General Mike Cox, former House Speaker Tom Leonard, state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt and several lesser-known hopefuls. 

Other Democratic candidates include Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.

It’s still early days in this headline contest, but in primaries, name recognition from voters is often key. It means the lesser-known candidates will have to find ways to raise their public profiles — and collect enough voter signatures to make the ballot. 

Conventionally, that means raising millions of dollars to fund advertisements. But in the modern media landscape, a savvy social media strategy can also make an impact.

Succeeding Gary Peters for US Senate

When Peters announced his retirement in early 2025, ending his political career after 12 years in Congress’ upper chamber, it sent shockwaves through the Michigan Democratic Party.

What’s emerged is a three-way Democratic primary that could be as competitive as any Michigan has seen for statewide office in recent years. 

US Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed are each vying for the seat. 

El-Sayed and McMorrow have both eschewed corporate political action committees and have called Israel’s war in Gaza a “genocide.”

Stevens has shown herself to be an adept fundraiser. She defeated a fellow incumbent Democrat, Andy Levin, in 2022 to stay in Congress during redistricting, in the process benefiting from millions of dollars in ads from a pro-Israel group.

The Republican side appears more set, with former US Rep. Mike Rogers reprising his campaign after losing to now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin by a hair-breadth, about 18,000 votes, in 2024.

He does have a primary challenger, however, in former Michigan GOP co-chair Bernadette Smith, who launched her campaign in November.

Political prognosticators at the Cook Political Report consider the Michigan race one of just two true Senate “toss-ups” nationwide, meaning outside money is likely to flood the state ahead of the general election. 

Ballot Bonanza 

There could be a true potpourri of ballot proposals on the 2026 general election ballot.

Just one is guaranteed a spot, however: whether to hold a constitutional convention and rewrite Michigan state government’s foundational document. Ballot committees have already formed both for and against the proposal, which automatically goes on the ballot every 16 years. 

If voters approve a convention, there would then be a statewide election for a cohort of convention delegates. Those representatives would then convene to draft a new constitution and whatever they produce — from a few tweaks to a wholesale rewrite — would also have to go before voters for approval, too.

The last time the state Constitution was re-written, in 1963, Gov. George Romney had pushed for the convention and to ratify the new document. Michigan’s current Constitution barely squeaked by with 50.23% approval.

Groups are attempting to collect enough valid voter signatures to put several other questions on the ballot next year, including proposals to:

• Change Michigan campaign finance law to ban donations from utilities, state government contractors and require more disclosure from “dark money” advertisers.
• Require every Michigander to show proof of citizenship to register to vote
• Tax the wealthiest residents — individual incomes above $500,000 on average — to increase funding for schools 
• Eliminate Michigan’s property taxes altogether

Legislature up for grabs

Michigan’s lawmaking body is in a relatively rare state, with partisan control of the two chambers split. The Senate is currently controlled by Democrats 19-18, while Republicans hold a 58-52 majority in the House. Every one of those seats will be on the ballot in 2026. 

While midterm elections generally favor the party out of power in Washington, DC, that’s not always the case. 

In 2022, when Democrats won both the House and Senate during President Joe Biden’s tenure, turnout was driven by abortion rights and a ballot proposal that enshrined access to reproductive services in the state constitution. 

Control of the Senate could hinge, in part, on a May special election for the long-vacant 35th District. If a Republican picks up the seat, the Senate will become split 19-19, and GOP hopes of a fall flip will grow. 

Battle for Congress

Michigan is also home to some of the most competitive US House districts in the country, that  — depending on how Trump’s push for mid-decade redistricting shakes out — could prove pivotal in the fight for control of Congress.

They include the Flint and Tri-Cities 8th Congressional District held by Democratic US Rep. Kristin McDonald Rivet, which she won by nearly 7 percentage points but Trump won by two points in 2024. It’s one of only 14 similar districts in the country, though the Cook Political Report has the district leaning Democrat.

Mid-Michigan’s 7th Congressional District that Slotkin vacated to run for Senate, and was flipped last year by GOP Rep. Tom Barrett, is also expected to be competitive. Primary contenders for the Democratic nomination to challenge Barrett include former Ukraine Ambassador Bridget Brink, former attache to President Barack Obama and Navy SEAL Matt Maarsdam and progressive activist William Lawrence.

US Rep. John James is leaving his 10th Congressional District seat in Macomb County to run for governor. The district “leans Republican,” according to the Cook Political Report, but Democrats are feeling confident they have a chance to take the open seat after a couple close elections. Big, multi-candidate primaries from both parties add some complexity to the race, too.

Speculation is also continuing to swirl about whether the 4th Congressional District, around Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, may open up. Longtime Republican US Rep Bill Huizenga has yet to say whether he’ll seek reelection. Democratic state Sen. Sean McCann is hoping to mount a significant challenge, but he will need to consolidate support within a four-candidate primary field. If Huizenga opts to stay in Congress, though, Democrats will have more of an uphill battle against the eight-term incumbent.