Aghogho Edevbie, one the Michigan’s top-ranking election officials, announced Monday he would launch a campaign to succeed Jocelyn Benson when her second term as secretary of state expires in 2026.
Edevbie has been deputy secretary of state since 2023, where he’s lead policy implementation for the department which oversees elections, vehicle registrations and other statewide services. In the role, he helped coordinate the implementation of voter-approved election changes brought by Proposal 2 of 2022, including early voting in Michigan for statewide elections for the first time.
Before being hired as deputy secretary of state and leading the implementation of the proposal, Edevbie was part of a group that helped author it, as Michigan state director for voting rights group All Voting is Local. Edevbie, 37, will be running for secretary of state as a Democrat.
“When I came into office, I was given the mandate of helping to implement Proposal 2,” Edevbie said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press ahead of launching his campaign. “And I’d seen it from the perspective of being the person to help put together the coalition to write the amendment and put it on the ballot. But it’s a completely different thing to implement policy.”
Michigan Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie speaks with the Detroit Free Press on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, ahead of launching his campaign for secretary of state, in Lansing, Mich.
Before joining All Voting is Local, Edevbie practiced law, including spending time as assistant corporation counsel in Wayne County. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and grew up in Detroit. In 2018, he ran in the Democratic primary for a Detroit-area state House district, receiving the fourth-most votes in that race.
Edevbie said his experience working with election officials, both in the Department of State and across Michigan’s local and county governments, has given him a strong foundation to run for the state’s top election administration role. Along with election oversight, he touted the department’s success at making visits to branch locations smoother for residents, as well as expanding online services so residents can access resources from home.
But Edevbie said ongoing threats to elections and eroding public trust in election officials spurred his decision to run. He said President Donald Trump, who repeatedly made false claims about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, presents a “clear and present danger” to voting access. Trump carried Michigan in the November election, winning the state by about 78,000 votes on his way back to the White House.
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“I was raised with the belief we all have the responsibility to do what’s necessary to protect our democracy,” Edevbie said. “These are very dangerous times, these are very serious times. So, I see my experiences … as having positioned me uniquely for this moment to help defend our democracy as it’s under threat.”
Defending democracy itself has been a refrain also used by Benson, who last week launched her own bid to become Michigan’s governor. Some Republicans in Michigan have criticized Benson during her tenure as secretary of state, and the Department of State also went through a series of legal battles, brought on by Republicans, over voting rules before the 2024 election.
Edevbie said the Department of State has made strides in both running elections and providing everyday services to residents since Benson was elected in 2018. Still, he said he would bring his own perspective to the role if elected and said being secretary of state involves seeking input and collaboration from every employee in the department, regardless of partisan affiliation.
“I’ve had the experiences of running a voting rights organization, of being deputy secretary of state and bringing my own unique perspectives. So in that way, I’m going to be different because I’m a different person,” he said.
On the policy front, Edevbie said he wants to advocate for greater funding for local clerks, as well as the adoption of the proposed Michigan Voting Rights Act, a series of bills which proponents say would expand voting protection and access for marginalized voters. Edevbie said it’s unlikely the bills pass during the current legislative term, with Republicans leading the state House, but said he was hopeful they could advance in the future.
Secretary of state is one of several of statewide positions up for election next year. Voters in Michigan will also elect a new governor and attorney general, and decide on races for the U.S. Senate and two seats on the Michigan Supreme Court during the November 2026 election.
Unlike some other statewide positions, party nominations for secretary of state and attorney general are made at each party’s nominating convention ahead of the election. Edevbie appears to be the first major-party candidate to announce a run for secretary of state, according to a search of online campaign finance records.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Democrat Aghogho Edevbie to run for Michigan Secretary of State
