The Detroit News
May 12, 2026
Craig Mauger
A statewide poll released Tuesday by the Detroit Regional Chamber showed Democrat Jocelyn Benson in the lead of the race to be Michigan’s next governor and independent Mike Duggan losing ground on the major party candidates.
Twenty-five weeks ahead of the November general election, the Detroit business organization, which has already endorsed Duggan, commissioned a survey of 600 likely Michigan voters who were asked questions over the phone from April 28 through May 1.
In response to one potential three-way matchup, about 34% of voters surveyed said they supported Benson, the current secretary of state from Detroit, 29% said they backed Republican U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, and 23% said they preferred Duggan, the former mayor of Detroit who’s running as an independent. About 14% were undecided.
The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The new numbers represented a stark shift from a similar poll from the Detroit Regional Chamber in late January and early February. That survey showed the same three candidates in a dead heat with Duggan at 30%, James at 29% and Benson at 28%.