Garlin Gilchrist II (D), Anthony Forlini (R), and three other candidates are running in the general election for Michigan Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.
Incumbent Jocelyn Benson (D) is running for governor. Benson was re-elected 55.9%–41.9% in 2022. That year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was re-elected 54.5%–43.9%. In 2024, President Donald Trump (R) defeated Kamala Harris (D) 49.7%–48.3% in the presidential election in Michigan and Elissa Slotkin (D) won the U.S. Senate election 48.6%–48.3%.
Gilchrist was first elected lieutenant governor on a joint ticket with Whitmer in 2018. He earlier worked as a software engineer with Microsoft and as a community organizer. Gilchrist's campaign website says, "Unlike typical politicians, Garlin refuses to take any corporate PAC money because for far too long dark money and corporate interests have undue influence in our elections. As a software developer himself, he knows how to stand tall Big Tech companies that try to abuse Michigander’s personal information and modernize systems for licensing and registration to work better and smarter."
