Mayor of Detroit from 2014 until January 1st 2026, serving three terms. A Democrat, he won office through an improbable write-in campaign. He stepped down having transformed a city that was, at the start of his tenure, plagued by derelict skyscrapers, broken street lights and rampant carjacking.
Under Duggan's leadership Detroit's population grew for the first time since 1957, according to 2024 Census Bureau data. In the decade to 2023, incomes in the city rose by almost twice the rate of the rest of Michigan. Carjackings fell by 90%. The city ended 2025 with a $105m budget surplus.
Duggan's approach centred on breaking down partisan and corrupt politics. Businesses were offered clear, consistent rules, which encouraged investment and higher tax revenue, in turn allowing the city to restore services.
In November 2026 Duggan intends to stand for governor of Michigan as an independent. He argues that partisan fighting in the state has produced the fourth-highest unemployment rate in the nation and decades of declining school-test results. Polling has him sharply trailing both the most likely Democratic and Republican candidates.
The study of non-linear physics is like the study of non-elephant biology.