2018 Michigan gubernatorial election

See also: 2018 United States gubernatorial elections

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The 2018 Michigan gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Michigan, concurrently with the election of Michigan's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Republican Governor Rick Snyder and Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley were term-limited and were unable to seek a third term in office. The filing deadline was April 24, 2018. The Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties chose their nominees in a partisan primary on August 7, 2018. 2018 was the first year the Libertarian Party held a gubernatorial primary alongside the two other major parties in the state of Michigan. The Working Class Party, U.S. Taxpayers Party, Green Party and Natural Law Party chose their nominees at state party conventions.

The race was not as close as expected, with Democrat Gretchen Whitmer was elected with 53.3% of the vote to Republican Bill Schuette's 43.8%. Schuette performed best in more sparsely populated areas, while Whitmer was supported by large margins in large and medium cities, such as Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Lansing. Whitmer also performed well in the Detroit suburbs. Whitmer carried former Republican stronghold Kent County (location of her native Grand Rapids), the first Democratic candidate to do so since James Blanchard's landslide 1986 reelection. Democrats swept the statewide races by also holding onto the Senate seat that was up for re-election, and picking up the positions of secretary of state and attorney general. They also captured every state university trustee seat that was up for election as well as the State Board of Education.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominated

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Endorsements

Bill Schuette

U.S. Executive Branch Officials

U.S. Governors

U.S. representatives

Local politicians

Individuals

  • Ted Nugent, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist
Jim Hines

Organizations

  • Right to Life of Michigan
Patrick Colbeck

U.S. senators

State officials

Individuals

  • David Barton, founder of Wallbuilders
  • Dawn Dodge, Speakers Bureau Director for the Republican Women's Federation of Michigan
  • Bob Dutko, Conservative Christian talk radio host
  • Mark Gurley, co-director of the Michigan Oak Initiative and as the Grassroots vice-chair for the MIGOP
  • Sean Hannity
  • Jack Lousma, former NASA astronaut and retired USMC colonel
  • Bob Lutz, Former General Motors Vice-Chairman and ex-Chrysler President
  • Wes Nakagiri, Michigan Tea Party leader, one of the 17 Republican at-large delegates sent to the 2016 Republican National Convention
  • Thayrone X, Metro Detroit talk radio host

Organizations

  • Michigan Vaccine Freedom PAC
  • Right to Life of Michigan
Brian Calley

U.S. Governors

U.S. representatives

State and local officials

Individuals

Organizations

  • Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Home Builders Association of Michigan
  • Michigan Vaccine Freedom PAC
  • Right to Life of Michigan

Newspapers

Debates

Polling

Hypothetical polling

Results

Results by county
Map legend
  •   Schuette—60–70%
  •   Schuette—50–60%
  •   Schuette—40–50%
  •   Schuette—30–40%
  •   Calley—30–40%
  •   Calley—40–50%
  •   Calley—50–60%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

Eliminated in primary

  • Abdul El-Sayed, former executive director of the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion
  • Shri Thanedar, author and entrepreneur

Write-In

  • Bill C. Cobbs, businessman

Declined

Endorsements

Gretchen Whitmer

U.S. senators

  • Carl Levin, former U.S. senator from Michigan (1979-2015)

U.S. representatives

State officials

Local officials

Organizations

Newspapers

Abdul El-Sayed

U.S. senators

U.S. representatives

State legislators

Organizations

Newspapers and publications

Political candidates

Individuals

Debates

Polling

Hypothetical polling

Results

Results by county
Map legend
  •   Whitmer—60–70%
  •   Whitmer—50–60%
  •   Whitmer—40–50%

Libertarian primary

The Libertarian Party is one of three parties that have a primary in Michigan.

Candidates

Nominated

  • Bill Gelineau

Eliminated in primary

  • John Tatar

Endorsements

John Tatar

Organizations

  • Michigan Vaccine Freedom PAC

Debates

Results

Green Convention

The Green Party chose candidates for the 2018 ballot at its state convention on May 5, 2018, at the University of Michigan-Flint.

Candidates

Declared and nominated

  • Jennifer Kurland, president of the Redford Union School Board

U.S. Taxpayers Party

Candidates

Declared and nominated

  • Todd Schleiger

Natural Law Party

Candidates

Declared and nominated

  • Keith Butkovich

General election

Predictions

Notes

Endorsements

Bill Schuette (R)

U.S. Executive Branch Officials

U.S. Governors

U.S. representatives

State Representatives

State Senators

Organizations

Local officials

Individuals

Gretchen Whitmer (D)

U.S. Executive Branch officials

U.S. senators

  • Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. senator from New York (2009–present) and former U.S. representative (NY-20) (2007–2009)
  • Gary Peters, U.S. senator from Michigan (2015–present) and former U.S. representative (MI-9/MI-14) (2009–2015)
  • Bernie Sanders, U.S senator from Vermont (2007–present) and former U.S. representative (VT-AL) (1991–2007) (Independent)
  • Debbie Stabenow, U.S. senator from Michigan (2001–present) and former U.S. representative (MI-8) (1997–2001)

U.S. representatives

Governors

State officials

Local officials

Labor unions

Organizations

Individuals

Bill Gelineau (L)

Individuals

  • Mary Buzuma, 2014 candidate for governor
  • Greg Creswell, 2006 candidate for governor
  • Kenneth Proctor, 2010 candidate for governor
Todd Schleiger (USTP)

Organizations

  • The Education Watchdogs
  • The Modern Whig Party
  • Protect OutStolen Treasures
Declined to endorse
State officials

Polling

Hypothetical polling

with Bill Schuette and Abdul El-Sayed

with Bill Schuette and Shri Thanedar

with Brian Calley and Gretchen Whitmer

with Brian Calley and Shri Thanedar

with Bill Schuette and Geoffrey Fieger

with Bill Schuette and Mike Duggan

Fundraising

Debates

Two televised debates between Schuette and Whitmer were scheduled. The first debate was held on Friday, October 12, and hosted by Grand Rapids television station WOOD-TV. That debate mainly concentrated on issues and there were no surprises or major errors from either candidate. The second debate was hosted by Detroit television station WDIV and was held on Wednesday, October 24. The two again clashed on various issues, but Schuette made a gaffe when he mixed up Whitmer's name with that of former governor Jennifer Granholm.

Campaign

While Whitmer's Democratic primary opponents publicly endorsed Whitmer in the general election, Republican nominee Schuette left the party split after the acrimonious battle with lieutenant governor Calley, with outgoing governor Rick Snyder refusing to endorse Schuette. Schuette also tried to hide his endorsement by Donald Trump from the primary in the general election. His actions as attorney general also came back to haunt him. Whitmer held consistent leads in polls over Schuette over the entire year.

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

Whitmer won 7 of Michigan's 14 congressional districts. The seven districts she won all elected Democrats to Congress, and the seven that Schuette won all elected Republicans, though he won the district that elected Justin Amash by a very narrow margin of 0.4% and the district that elected Fred Upton by an even thinner 0.2%.

Notes

Partisan clients

References

Official campaign websites

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