A former Portland police chief has announced that he will be entering Michigan’s gubernatorial race, and officially launched his campaign on Tuesday.
James Craig served as Portland’s police chief from 2009 to 2011. In 2011, Craig left Portland for Cincinnati, where he became the city’s first Black police chief. Then in May 2013 Craig announced he was leaving Cincinnati for Detroit, where he began his law enforcement career in 1977.
Craig has been exploring the idea of running to unseat Michigan’s current democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer since he retired from his position as chief of the Detroit Police Department in May, according to NBC News.
“I spent 44 years protecting and serving my community, including eight years as chief of police in Detroit, and I’m prepared to lead from the front,” Craig, who will run as a Republican, told NBC.
Craig is entering an already-crowded race for the governor’s seat, where at least nine other GOP candidates have declared their intent to challenge Whitmer, NBC reported.
Last year, Craig contracted COVID-19 in early April, but has since recovered.