Polling Average
60%50%40%30%20%10%0%
12.7%
53.7%
6.4%
Michigan Democratic Governor nominee?
$50.0K
AUG 5, 2026Primary Election
Party selects its nominee.
Overview
Current roleOther
PartyDemocratic
Political ideologyProgressive Democrat
Age43 years old (Sep 25, 1982)
GenderMale
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LocationMichigan
BackgroundPolitician
EducationUniversity of Michigan — B.S.E. (Computer Science and Computer Engineering), 2005
Notable personal detailsGarlin Gilchrist II is an American politician and software engineer who has served as Michigan’s 64th lieutenant governor since 2019. He previously worked in technology and civic innovation, including as a software engineer at Microsoft and as Detroit’s Director of Innovation, where he helped create the Improve Detroit reporting app. He earned an engineering degree from the University of Michigan and has led state initiatives focused on justice reform, broadband expansion, and public health equity. He lives in Detroit with his wife, Ellen, and their three children.
SourcesShowHide
michigan.goven.wikipedia.orgwikidata.orglinkedin.comapnews.comaxios.comes.wikipedia.orgmichiganadvance.comminingjournal.netalumni.umich.eduuppermichiganssource.commichiganbusiness.orgmichigannewssource.comgarlingilchrist.comwgvunews.orgwnem.commichiganpublic.orgwemu.orgportal.ct.govdigital.bentley.umich.edumichiganchronicle.commiaflcio.orgnga.orgdocquery.fec.govballotready.orgfinance.senate.govcdn.ballotpedia.orggovinfo.govjustfacts.votesmart.orgvoterguide.ballotpedia.orgru.wikipedia.orgdeveloper.ballotpedia.org
Positions
LiberalConservative
Economy & Taxes
Supports targeted tax relief for low- and middle-income households (expanded Earned Income Tax Credit) and proposed tax credits for caregivers while backing state budget investments in education, housing, infrastructure and economic development without raising broad taxes. Emphasizes using state budget and targeted credits to put money back into working families’ pockets and to invest in public programs that promote economic opportunity.
Healthcare
Supports expanding access to affordable health care, protecting and strengthening Medicaid and Medicare, and improving mental-health services and health equity; favors government action and investments to lower costs and increase access rather than privatization or repeal. Positions emphasize building on existing programs and lessons from the COVID-19 response to reduce disparities.
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Abortion & Reproductive Rights
Supports protecting and expanding access to abortion and reproductive healthcare; describes reproductive decisions as between patients and medical providers and opposes efforts to restrict that access. Commits to using executive and coalition tools to defend reproductive freedom in Michigan and to codify/affirm those protections under state law.
Climate & Energy
Supports aggressive state-level climate action and large clean-energy investments, backing Michigan’s MI Healthy Climate Plan goals including carbon neutrality by 2050 and major programs to expand solar, hydrogen, and clean-energy manufacturing and financing. Has announced and promoted grant programs and federal-state partnerships to grow clean energy jobs, deploy solar and storage, and build hydrogen manufacturing capacity in Michigan.
Public Safety & Guns
Garlin Gilchrist supports expanded gun violence prevention measures including universal background checks, safe-storage requirements, and extreme risk (red flag) orders, and has promoted efforts to remove illegal firearms from communities. He has also supported holding the firearms industry accountable and funding public-safety initiatives to reduce gun violence.
News
AINews Summary
Last updatedJan 8, 2026
After years of being gaslighted by some of the most dishonest people in government and the media, The Gateway Pundit, along with some of the most respected election investigators in the state, are looking forward to blowing the lid off the lies about Detroit’s “secure” 2020 election that helped to give Joe Biden with an inexplicable victory in the must-win state of Michigan.
michigan.gov+31
Polls
Michigan Democratic Governor nominee?
Aggregation source: FiftyPlusOne
New updates coming soon
We're monitoring and will update when new data impacts the race.
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