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Weekday mornings on Michigan Public, Doug Tribou hosts NPR's Morning Edition, the most listened-to news radio program in the country.

How would gubernatorial candidates bring jobs to Michigan?

Michigan Public | By Caoilinn Goss,
Doug Tribou, Adam Yahya Rayes
Published July 24, 2026 at 2:51 PM EDT
A graphic for an "Election 2026" article headlined "Michigan governor candidate stances: data centers." Three black-and-white candidate photos are composited against a blue-to-red gradient background. On the right, an older man in a striped shirt leans forward smiling. On the left, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie smiles at the camera. In the center, a woman with blonde hair wearing a dark blazer smiles directly at the camera. The candidates are not identified by name in the graphic.
We asked candidates in Michigan's gubernatorial primary how they would develop high-paying jobs. Republican John James declined to be interviewed.

We have seen a lot of debate over what the state should — or should not — do to help attract and keep businesses in Michigan. One major point of contention is the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and its taxpayer-funded spending on private businesses.

The next governor may have opportunities to change the MEDC's approach and try new tactics to bring jobs to Michigan. We asked the candidates about that.

Politicians sometimes share incorrect information. Get the facts about economic development here.

Get the facts about economic development in Michigan:
A hiring sign is displayed in Wheeling, Ill., Thursday, May 5, 2022. America’s employers added 428,000 jobs in April, extending a streak of solid hiring that has defied punishing inflation, chronic supply shortages, the Russian war against Ukraine and much higher borrowing costs. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Nam Y. Huh/AP
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AP
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Caoilinn Goss
Caoilinn Goss is Michigan Public's Morning Edition producer. She pitches, produces and edits interviews and feature stories, as well as the “Mornings in Michigan” series.
See stories by Caoilinn Goss
Doug Tribou
Doug Tribou joined the Michigan Public staff as the host of Morning Edition in 2016. Doug first moved to Michigan in 2015 when he was awarded a Knight-Wallace journalism fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
See stories by Doug Tribou
Adam Yahya Rayes
Large sets of numbers add up to peoples’ stories. As Michigan Public’s Data Reporter, Adam Yahya Rayes seeks to sift through noisy digits to put the individuals and policies that make up our communities into perspective.
See stories by Adam Yahya Rayes
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