Diversity marks Democrats’ field for Michigan gov
Lansing — If Michigan elects a Democratic governor in 2018, it could be a historic first.
Voters could elect the nation’s and state’s first Muslim governor, Michigan’s first black governor or its first Indian-American governor. Or they could pick the state’s second female governor.
So far, not a single high-profile white man is vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination, though Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger has expressed interest. The declared and expected GOP candidates, which include Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and Attorney General Bill Schuette, are all white men.
With 11 months to go before the primary, Michigan is boasting an incredibly diverse Democratic candidate pool after voting Republican for president last year for the first time in 28 years. Michigan narrowly voted for Donald Trump, who has weathered criticism over his perceived reluctance to distance himself from white supremacists and history of offensive comments about Muslims, Mexicans and women.
Gretchen Whitmer is an early front-runner who is racking up Democratic establishment endorsements.
Next in line are Abdul El-Sayed, Detroit’s former health director and an Arab-American and Muslim; wealthy Ann Arbor businessman Shri Thanedar, an Indian-American immigrant; and former Xerox Global Vice President Bill Cobbs of Farmington Hills, who is black. Justin Giroux, a restaurant worker from Wayland, and Kentiel White, a black health care worker from Southgate are also running.
In interviews, the candidates don’t stress their diversity, preferring to emphasize their policy stances or their general appeal.
“I’ll be honest: I’ve always thought about myself as so fundamentally American that I couldn’t escape my American-ness if I tried,” El-Sayed said. “So this for me is about embracing our country and the opportunities it offers because of the challenges that we face right now and the need to have high quality leadership and people who come together in solving those challenges.”
Michigan State Police said hate crimes in the state rose 23 percent in 2016, but the 32-year-old epidemiologist and Detroiter expresses faith in Michigan’s residents.
“Now, a lot has been made about my faith and my ethnicity,” El-Sayed said. “I can tell you this: I know, having been to 80 different cities and 40 counties across the state, that Michiganders are really good people. People are not asking me as much about how I pray as about what I pray for.”
Thanedar, who says he immigrated to the United States in 1979 with $16 in his pocket, considers himself “as much an American as anyone else.” He became a U.S. citizen in 1988, made a fortune running businesses and is now dumping more than $3 million of his own money into his campaign.