Cox Claims To Have His Signatures; Duggan Not Interested In Musk Third Party Option

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/14/2025) Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Cox announced Monday that he has gathered 30,000 signatures in his quest to make the August 2026 Republican gubernatorial ballot. All Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates must secure at least 15,000 valid voter signatures before being allowed on the primary ballot. The maximum is 30,000. Cox is the first to announce that he's gathered the needed number.

"This is a huge milestone, and it's proof that voters across Michigan are fired up about our message," Cox wrote in a fundraising email. "The momentum this campaign has is undeniable. Michiganders are ready to turn the page on Gretchen Whitmer's failed leadership and build a future that puts Michigan first.

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"This is only just the beginning. We are full steam ahead in this campaign and I look forward to continuing to speak with you about my plan to Make Michigan Great Again," Cox said.

Duggan Not Interested In Musk Third Party Option

Independent gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan is not interested in continuing his campaign as a third-party alternative with billionaire Elon Musk or anyone else, for that matter, his campaign announced Monday.

The Detroit Mayor's campaign said in a statement that Duggan believes Michigan suffered badly from the "toxic fighting" between Republicans and Democrats in Lansing, and he believes the best hope for a unified agenda in Michigan is to continue running as an independent.

"Elon Musk's approach is the opposite – it is to create a third party," reads the statement. "Mayor Duggan believes that, for Michigan, the injection of a third party would add to the chaos and division in the State Legislature and make things worse.  It is not an approach Mayor Duggan will be pursuing."

Last week, Politico reported Musk and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang were starting discussions about potentially forming a third party. The article specifically has Yang mentioning being "very excited about" the Duggan candidacy.

In June, Musk asked on X "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?"

To this, Duggan responded, "Now you've got my attention."

The Michigan Democratic Party picked up on the exchange in a press release Monday with spokesperson Derrick Honeyman accusing Duggan of playing "online footsie" with Musk and allegedly dodging questions about joining up with the Tesla CEO.

Presented with these accusations, the Duggan campaign announced that there "has been no contact between Elon Musk and the Duggan campaign."