Former Detroit Mayor and Independent Mike Duggan announced that he would end his bid to be the next Governor of Michigan on Thursday.

Duggan’s announcement will cause a significant shakeup in a race where he was polling well for an Independent and leave a significant share of the vote on the table for Republicans and Democrats to pick up.

Recent polling showed Duggan commanding as much as 23% of the vote as he ran on a centrist, business-friendly platform, touting his turnaround of the city of Detroit.

Still, Duggan professed the belief that he did not have a viable path to the Governorship in Michigan as one of the reasons he dropped out.

Additionally, he lamented a lack of national fundraising support, saying that insufficient fundraising infrastructure exists for Independent candidates.

“We’ve finally concluded the national fundraising for these groups is too much in its infancy to be of great help to our race in 2026. As generous as our Michigan donors have been, we will be strongly outspent by the national Republican and Democratic parties this fall.”

In addition to a large share of the vote, Duggan’s announcement leaves a significant number of endorsements on the table, including the Detroit Chamber of Commerce and Michigan’s Firefighters Union.

In his announcement, Duggan said that he hopes the remaining candidates in the race reduce “toxic partisan politics.”

“I’m still hopeful our campaign will prove to have a real long-term impact. 23% support in the last poll means more than 1.6 million Michigan voters are today looking for a Governor candidate serious about reducing the toxic partisan politics. If the candidates on the ballot this year take that message to heart and truly reach out to those voters, we will have accomplished something important.”

[RELATED: Major Whitmer Donor Charged with Multiple Felonies Related to $20M Grant]

[RELATED: Pistons Force Game 7 in Dominant Performance]