(LANSING) – Republican State Representative John James announced Monday he’s running for Governor of Michigan in 2026.

The 43 year old congressman, who represents a district north of Detroit, is jumping into the race to replace term-limited Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer just months into his second term.

James previously ran twice unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate before narrowly winning his Michigan House seat in 2022 by less than 2,000 votes. He won reelection in 2024 with a more comfortable margin, defeating Democrat Carl Marlinga by nearly 6 percentage points.

James joins a GOP field that includes the Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt. On the Democratic side, some high-profile candidates have already announced bids, including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is running as an independent.

A military veteran and the first Black Republican elected to Congress from Michigan, James has long been viewed as a rising star in both state and national GOP circles. But he’s yet to break through statewide, having lost bids for U.S. Senate in 2018 to now-retired Democrat Debbie Stabenow and in 2020 to Sen. Gary Peters, who recently announced he won’t seek reelection in 2026.