27-01-2025
Michigan Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie seeks to succeed Benson
Aghogho Edevbie, former All Voting Is Local Michigan state director, during a Sept. 29, 2022 Detroit rally to promote early voting. | Ken Coleman
The Michigan Secretary of State race is underway as Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie announced his candidacy Monday to keep the office in Democrats' hands.
Edevbie is the first person of a major political party to announce they're running to be Michigan's top election official in the 2026 election, as Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is term-limited. She announced earlier this month she's running for governor to succeed Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who's also term-limited in 2026.
Edevbie has served as deputy secretary of state since 2023, after unsuccessfully running for the state House in 2018. He previously worked as state director for All Voting is Local, one of the groups that supported the voter-approved changes to Michigan's election laws in 2022 that included requirements for early, in-person voting, among other reforms.
'When it comes to defending our democracy, it's time to get to work. We've shown that we can make voting easier, that we can make the Secretary of State's office run better and that we can work on behalf of everyone in our state, no matter who you are or where you live,' Edevbie said in a video posted to Youtube Monday morning, announcing his campaign.
Images of supporters of now-President Donald Trump vandalizing the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, flash at the start of Edevbie's announcement video, as Edevbie states, 'In America, we're not where we want to be right now.'
He remarks on the violence and threats election workers around the country have faced in recent years, as Trump has continued to falsely claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.
Democracy is worth defending and the Secretary of State's office in Michigan must hold firm and work to improve access in order to best serve the people of the state, Edevbie said.
The work is hard, but Michigan is a state of hard workers, Edevbie said, remarking his experience as the child of Nigerian immigrants who dedicated their lives to public service for their local community.
'My parents not only taught me about hard work, they also taught me about the importance of stepping up for the people around me,' Edevbie said.
The 2026 election will mark elections for several key offices. Michigan will be electing a new secretary of state, as well as governor and attorney general. Even with nearly two years until Election Day, individuals in recent weeks have been announcing their aspirations for office.
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