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Businessman Perry Johnson announced a Michigan gubernatorial bid on Monday.
“I am running for Governor of Michigan. My business experience brought quality and efficiency to help save the auto industry. We can deliver better services at lower cost by running state government with efficiency, accountability, and a results-driven mindset,” he wrote in a post on X.
The post featured a campaign video that asserted, “Michigan’s government is pathetic.”
Johnson’s campaign site indicates that he supports the idea of eliminating Michigan’s state income tax.
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Perry Johnson, former Republican gubernatorial candidate for Michigan, speaks during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc., on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Johnson ran for president for part of 2023 before dropping out and endorsing President Donald Trump.
Trump responded to the endorsement in a 2023 Truth Social post, calling Johnson “a brilliant Businessman who has enjoyed great success.”
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Perry Johnson, former Republican gubernatorial candidate for Mich., speaks at the Republican Party Of Iowa’s annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., on Friday, July 28, 2023. (Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Johnson tried to pursue the 2022 Michigan Republican gubernatorial nomination, but was one of multiple candidates disqualified from the primary ballot, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is currently serving her second term, and is thus not eligible to run again.
Johnson is jumping into a crowded Republican gubernatorial field that includes former state Attorney General Mike Cox, U.S. Rep. John James, former State House Speaker Tom Leonard, and State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, according to the Detroit Free Press.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer looks on before the game between the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 16, 2025 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. (Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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“Perry Johnson is just the latest extreme, out-of-touch candidate to join Michigan’s chaotic Republican primary,” Democratic Governors Association Communications Director Sam Newton said in a statement.
“From being all-in on Donald Trump’s harmful, cost-raising agenda and supporting an abortion ban to spending over $7 million dollars on his last failed gubernatorial campaign, it’s clear Johnson will make Michigan Republicans’ already ugly and bruising primary even more chaotic and expensive,” Newton added.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
