Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson speaks at a campaign event in Lansing. Jan. 22, 2026. (Photo by Katherine Dailey/Michigan Advance)

The Michigan Nurses Association, the largest union of registered nurses and health care professionals in the state, has endorsed Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in her bid for governor, the association announced Monday.

“Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare industry and we deserve a governor who will fight for us every single day,” MNA president Aaron McCormick, RN told Michigan Advance. “Jocelyn Benson is the leader we can trust to be our advocate, and the top candidate who has consistently championed pro-worker policy and workplaces where every employee is valued and respected.”

McCormick cited Benson’s work as secretary of state in expanding ballot access as among the union’s reasons for their endorsement.

“Jocelyn Benson has proven she won’t fold under pressure. When powerful interests push, she pushes back,” McCormick said in a press release. “She’s shown a real willingness to listen to nurses and healthcare professionals about the challenges we’re facing. That kind of leadership matters.”

Benson has snagged the endorsement of a number of key unions in Michigan, including the majority of Michigan Teamsters, the Michigan Laborers, the Association of Flight Attendants – CWA, and the United Food and Commercial Workers union Local 951.

Her only opponent for the Democratic nomination, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, also has union support, including Iron Workers Local 25, Operating Engineers Local 324 and the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Michigan.

While none of the Republican gubernatorial candidates have union endorsements, independent candidate Mike Duggan has significant union support, including Pipefitters Local 636, American Postal Workers Union Local 480-481 and the Detroit Police Officers Association. But Duggan has a difficult past with the Michigan Nurses Association — in his time heading the Detroit Medical Center, when nurses at the hospital system sought to join the union, hospital leadership under Duggan sought to bust those efforts.

John Armelagos, who was the president of the Michigan Nurses Association during Duggan’s time at Detroit Medical Center, told the Michigan Advance last year that he did not see how anyone in the labor movement could support Duggan’s campaign.

“I don’t know how any bona fide trade unionist could support Mike Duggan for any office in lieu of the vicious anti-union campaign that was conducted at DMC while he was CEO,” he said.

Benson expressed her gratitude for the support of the Michigan Nurses Association in a press release from her campaign.

“This campaign is about making sure the people who power our state’s economy and spend their careers serving others – like Michigan nurses – can afford to live here and thrive,” she said. “These men and women heal and care for all of us when we need it most. We have a moral duty to serve them just as they show up for us and as governor, I will always have their backs.”