Worthy endorsement of Benson brings Detroit clout in primary, but Duggan’s shadow looms large

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson speaks at a get out the vote event at Solidarity House in Detroit on Nov. 1 2024, days before the presidential election. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is all in on Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s gubernatorial bid, which could help her win Detroit in the 2026 primary – but maybe not so much in the general election with the city’s popular mayor on the ballot as an independent candidate.

Worthy announced her endorsement of Benson on Thursday, adding to a long list of supporters as she remains the frontrunner in the Democratic Party primary. She touted Benson’s grit and experience, but also her heart and vision for the state.

“[Benson] came to Detroit to make a difference as a civil rights advocate clerking for Judge Damon Keith, then transformed Wayne State Law School, leading the school from the bottom tier to the Top 50,” Worthy said. “We’ve seen what happens when leaders prioritize political survival or corporate interests over community needs. Jocelyn won’t play it safe. She’ll go toe-to-toe with anyone who threatens our hard earned rights and stand up for working families in Wayne County and across Michigan.”

Worthy went on to say that Benson’s plan puts people first, most of all those “who’ve been ignored or left behind for too long.”

“Jocelyn has what it takes to win, and more importantly, she has what it takes to govern with moral courage,” Worthy said.

Benson on social media thanked Worthy for her support, saying she has worked alongside her and admired the prosecutor for years.

“Prosecutor Worthy has always led with moral courage and integrity,” Benson said. “Her belief in our campaign and our shared vision for a Michigan where every community can thrive means so much to me. Together we’ll fight for a state where rights are protected, families are supported, and everyone can thrive.”

The longtime prosecutor’s support could undoubtedly help Benson’s chances among voters in the Democratic stronghold of the Motor City, but it was significant for another reason. Worthy did not endorse the other Detroit and Wayne County resident on the Democratic side of the race, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II.

It also signals that Benson is trying to build a coalition that could win in diverse parts of the state where Democrats also carry weight. 

A big win in Detroit for one of the primary candidates, including Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, could be a key brick in the path to victory when the August contest arrives next year.

In an interview with Michigan Advance, Andrea Bitely, a political consultant and the owner of Bitely Communications, said Worthy’s endorsement of Benson makes sense because they are both attorneys who likely run in the same social circles and are women in significant leadership positions.

That said, Bitely noted that a strong Detroit showing in August 2026 might not matter much months later in the general election because of one very specific reason: Mike Duggan.

Bitely said there was no doubt the city would show up for Duggan even though he left the Democratic Party to seek the high office as an independent candidate – and one who tore at both Democrats’ and Republicans’ heels when he announced his intentions.

Duggan’s place in the city’s political zeitgeist wasn’t just a problem for Benson, it was something that both Gilchrist and Swanson have to grapple with if one ends up being the eventual nominee.

“Democrats have long been the winners in the city of Detroit, but the way that Mike Duggan is talking is really representative of the way I think a lot of Detroiters feel,” Bitely said. “And Duggan has come right and said, ‘I’m not a Democrat anymore. Those values don’t match my values, but I’m also not a Republican, because those values don’t match my values.”

That leads Bitely to believe that people in the city of Detroit would see Duggan as a more viable option.

“Detroit has seen such a resurgence under Duggan that there’s almost no way a Democrat is going to win the city with Duggan on the ballot,” she said. “I think that happens when you have somebody good in charge for so long.”

But, on the subject of Benson and her chances in the city, Bitely said Benson was polling significantly down against Duggan. And, as voters saw in November with Vice President Kamala Harris, some voters still have a strong aversion to casting a ballot for women candidates. 

“In the most recent election, we saw a bump toward [President Donald Trump] with male voters in the city of Detroit, at a significantly larger number than I think a lot of people expected,” Bitely said. “The Worthy endorsement of Benson may help her some in the primary, but overall, Mike Duggan has the city of Detroit locked up. There is zero chance that Jocelyn Benson can beat Mike Duggan in the city of Detroit.”

That speaks volumes of Duggan and where Benson stands, but it also doesn’t bode well for Gilchrist, either. Bitely noted that Gilchrist is the second-in-command of the state next to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and has shown himself to be a caring leader, but he also didn’t win in the city when he ran for clerk prior to becoming Whitmer’s running mate in 2018.

The pair beat out the Republicans in the 2018 general election – former Attorney General Bill Schuette and current Kent County Clerk Lisa Lyons – and Gilchrist ascended to the history books as the first Black lieutenant governor in state history.

Bitely said it was generally difficult to win an election in Detroit on a candidate’s first go, but it was also telling that Gilchrist’s own running mate in Whitmer has yet to extend her endorsement.

“That’s not necessarily a kiss of death, but it makes his journey to being governor a lot more challenging,” Bitely said.