United States / Michigan / Gubernatorial Election
2026 Michigan gubernatorial election
Michigan polling average: Benson (D) 51.2% — James (R) 43.1% — Benson (D) +8.1Pollytic average to 2 Nov 2026: recent, larger polls weigh more; no institute counts more than once.
Election date
Held on
Live results
Counting96% reporting ·
| Candidate | Votes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jocelyn BensonProjected winnerDemocratic Party | 2,598,833 | 54.5% | |
| John JamesRepublican Party | 2,085,630 | 43.7% | |
| Anthony HudsonLibertarian Party | 44,261 | 0.9% | |
| Donna BrandenburgU.S. Taxpayers | 20,028 | 0.4% | |
| Douglas CampbellGreen Party | 17,509 | 0.4% | |
| Write-inNonpartisan | 2,843 | 0.1% | |
| Angelo Scott BrownWrite-In | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Cecelia Lea AdkinsWrite-In | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Evan Sebastian SpaceWrite-In | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Henry Joseph LesterWrite-In | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Joseph Michael HuntWrite-In | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Justin Paul BlackburnWrite-In | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Kimberly Ruby-Ann ThomasWrite-In | 0 | 0.0% | |
| Timothy J BadgleyWrite-In | 0 | 0.0% | |
| William James StahlWrite-In | 0 | 0.0% |
| County | Leader | Lead | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne | Benson | +45.9 | 712,810 |
| Oakland | Benson | +20.7 | 672,090 |
| Macomb | Benson | +3.6 | 418,294 |
| Kent | Benson | +15.2 | 324,655 |
| Washtenaw | Benson | +52.3 | 200,075 |
| Genesee | Benson | +16.8 | 181,192 |
| Ottawa | James | +13.6 | 160,226 |
| Ingham | Benson | +41.7 | 131,525 |
| Kalamazoo | Benson | +26.9 | 125,965 |
| Livingston | James | +16.0 | 113,468 |
All 83 counties
| County | Leader | Lead | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saginaw | Benson | +6.2 | 86,082 |
| St. Clair | James | +24.7 | 79,662 |
| Muskegon | Benson | +9.3 | 78,169 |
| Monroe | James | +15.7 | 74,050 |
| Berrien | Benson | +0.3 | 68,682 |
| Jackson | James | +9.6 | 68,145 |
| Allegan | James | +19.4 | 59,488 |
| Eaton | Benson | +9.1 | 55,485 |
| Calhoun | James | +2.2 | 54,515 |
| Grand Traverse | Benson | +8.8 | 54,264 |
| Bay | James | +1.5 | 49,767 |
| Lapeer | James | +30.0 | 44,991 |
| Lenawee | James | +12.1 | 44,323 |
| Clinton | Benson | +2.6 | 43,395 |
| Midland | James | +6.5 | 42,265 |
| Van Buren | James | +4.3 | 33,710 |
| Marquette | Benson | +22.8 | 33,628 |
| Shiawassee | James | +10.6 | 33,083 |
| Barry | James | +24.7 | 31,125 |
| Montcalm | James | +28.0 | 27,755 |
| Ionia | James | +20.4 | 27,567 |
| Isabella | Benson | +5.0 | 26,056 |
| Tuscola | James | +31.6 | 24,422 |
| Newaygo | James | +34.2 | 23,682 |
| St. Joseph | James | +21.8 | 23,574 |
| Cass | James | +24.6 | 21,847 |
| Emmet | James | +3.6 | 19,619 |
| Hillsdale | James | +40.9 | 19,237 |
| Sanilac | James | +40.1 | 18,498 |
| Mecosta | James | +21.3 | 18,446 |
| Delta | James | +19.4 | 16,886 |
| Branch | James | +28.6 | 16,813 |
| Houghton | James | +5.0 | 16,428 |
| Leelanau | Benson | +12.8 | 15,980 |
| Gratiot | James | +20.2 | 15,798 |
| Wexford | James | +24.0 | 15,674 |
| Huron | James | +30.6 | 15,641 |
| Mason | James | +13.2 | 15,395 |
| Chippewa | James | +14.5 | 15,100 |
| Charlevoix | James | +8.7 | 14,998 |
| Antrim | James | +16.1 | 14,398 |
| Clare | James | +28.4 | 14,237 |
| Alpena | James | +16.4 | 13,878 |
| Cheboygan | James | +23.2 | 13,595 |
| Roscommon | James | +23.1 | 13,289 |
| Otsego | James | +24.6 | 12,972 |
| Manistee | James | +6.4 | 12,954 |
| Iosco | James | +19.4 | 12,802 |
| Oceana | James | +21.0 | 12,627 |
| Gladwin | James | +31.6 | 12,595 |
| Dickinson | James | +23.3 | 11,858 |
| Benzie | Benson | +1.7 | 11,104 |
| Osceola | James | +39.6 | 10,687 |
| Ogemaw | James | +31.9 | 10,337 |
| Menominee | James | +24.3 | 10,228 |
| Kalkaska | James | +31.7 | 9,248 |
| Missaukee | James | +47.8 | 7,396 |
| Arenac | James | +28.3 | 7,388 |
| Presque Isle | James | +18.5 | 7,281 |
| Crawford | James | +20.8 | 6,963 |
| Gogebic | James | +3.6 | 6,559 |
| Alcona | James | +34.1 | 6,287 |
| Mackinac | James | +16.9 | 6,053 |
| Iron | James | +15.4 | 5,690 |
| Lake | James | +23.7 | 5,609 |
| Montmorency | James | +37.5 | 5,318 |
| Alger | James | +9.1 | 4,409 |
| Oscoda | James | +36.8 | 4,337 |
| Schoolcraft | James | +18.9 | 4,006 |
| Baraga | James | +18.0 | 3,511 |
| Ontonagon | James | +18.3 | 3,177 |
| Luce | James | +37.6 | 2,373 |
| Keweenaw | James | +2.1 | 1,393 |
How the count progressed
Updated
Updating automatically
Polling trend
The average of recent polls. Newer polls and more accurate pollsters count more. How it’s calculated
Latest polls
Each poll as published, with its pollster, fieldwork dates, sample size and a link to the source.
How to read a poll
- Sample size is how many people were asked. More people means less random error, never none.
- ±3 is the margin of error: the real figure is likely within 3 points either way of the one shown.
- Two polls can differ because they were taken on different dates, with different methods and different samples.
- est. means the institute did not publish a margin of error, so it is estimated from the sample size.
- The average smooths this out: it combines recent polls, so one unusual poll cannot swing the picture.
What the polls say
Benson (D) leads the polling average in Michigan on 51.2%, 8.1 points ahead of James (R) (43.1%). The biggest shift over the past month is Benson (D), up 2.2 points.
18 polls from 17 institutes were published in the last 30 days of polling. The most recent is from AtlasIntel, published 2 Nov 2026. The average gives recent and larger polls more weight and counts no institute more than once; read how it works.
Candidates
Who is standing, in order of the polling average, then the result.
- Jocelyn BensonDemocratic
- John JamesRepublican
Forecast
All 2026 racesHow likely each side is to win, according to the main forecasters.
Likely DForecast
Chance of winning: Jocelyn Benson (D) 82%, John James (R) 18%
- Cook Political ReportLean D
- Sabato's Crystal BallLikely D
- Inside ElectionsLean D
How the forecast has moved
Model
Chance of winning by party, one point per daily snapshot.
Show all 7 forecasters
VoteHub
ElectIndex
CM Election Predictions
America First Insight
Kalshi
Polymarket
PredictIt
Rating changes
- Inside Elections:Tilt DLean D3 Nov
- Kalshi:Likely DSafe D3 Nov
- PredictIt:Likely DSafe D3 Nov
- Model:Lean DLikely D28 Oct
- Kalshi:Safe DLikely D28 Oct
- PredictIt:Safe DLikely D28 Oct
- Sabato's Crystal Ball:Lean DLikely D28 Oct
- Model:Likely DLean D20 Oct
- ElectIndex:Likely DSafe D20 Oct
- PredictIt:Likely DSafe D20 Oct
- PredictIt:Safe DLikely D4 Oct
Government
Who governs Michigan now.
Gretchen Whitmer
Governor of Michigan