Lansing — Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt suspended his campaign to be the state’s next governor Monday, less than three hours after President Donald Trump announced he was endorsing fellow Republican U.S. Rep. John James for the job.
Nesbitt of Porter Township had been portraying himself as a vocal supporter of Trump, with his team distributing materials that said the president was “right about everything.”
“This campaign has always been about the people of Michigan and standing with President Trump to defeat the Democrats in November,” Nesbitt wrote on X. “Today, I am suspending my campaign and proudly joining President Trump in endorsing John James as Michigan’s next governor.”
Nesbitt’s exit leaves James of Shelby Township, former Attorney General Mike Cox of Livonia and businessman Perry Johnson of Bloomfield Hills as the three GOP candidates still actively seeking their party’s nomination in the Aug. 4 primary.
Both Cox and Johnson vowed to fight on Monday despite Trump’s endorsement of James, who has previously run for the U.S. Senate in Michigan twice unsuccessfully.
Nesbitt had consistently been in fourth place behind the other three contenders in public polling.
His name will still appear on the ballot in August.
Michigan’s current governor, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, can’t seek reelection because of term limits.
The Senate minority leader launched his bid for the position in January 2025.
He previously served three terms in the state House, where he worked heavily on energy policy, and is now in his second and final term in the Senate. During Republican former Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration, Nesbitt was briefly the state’s lottery commissioner.
Nesbitt grew up on a six-generation family farm in southwest Michigan’s Van Buren County and earned an economics degree from Hillsdale College, according to his official Michigan Senate biography.
In his statement Monday, Nesbitt called on Republicans to unite behind James.
“I’m asking every one of you who supported this campaign to stand with me behind John James, roll up our sleeves and deliver a Republican victory in November,” Nesbitt wrote.
Former state House Speaker Tom Leonard, another Republican former candidate for governor, also endorsed James after ending his bid.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Aric Nesbitt drops bid for Michigan governor after Trump decision
Reporting by Craig Mauger, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Craig Mauger, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
