The Detroit News
April 28, 2026
Craig Mauger
U.S. Rep. John James has maintained an early lead in the race to be the Republican nominee for governor, amid a surge in spending by businessman Perry Johnson, according to a new poll of likely Michigan GOP primary voters released Tuesday.
The phone survey of 500 likely voters, commissioned by the Detroit Regional Chamber, found 37% of participants supported James, a second-term congressman and former U.S. Senate candidate, 20% backed Johnson, 10% preferred former Attorney General Mike Cox and 7% picked state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt.
Former state House Speaker Tom Leonard, who dropped out of the race on Thursday, got 3%, and longtime Pastor Ralph Rebandt received 1%. The rest of the likely GOP primary voters surveyed, about 23%, said they wanted someone else or were undecided.
The poll was conducted by the Glengariff Group on April 21-24. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.