Nesbitt received the college’s Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award in 2027. Courtesy | Douglas Coon

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt ’01 is the first Republican to enter the contest

The first Republican to jump into the 2026 race for Michigan governor heard about Hillsdale College while doing farm chores in eighth grade.

“I was out brush chopping the vineyards,” Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt told The Collegian in an interview last week.

The 45-year-old state senator representing part of southwest Michigan grew up on a sixth-generation dairy and grape farm, where he would listen to the radio during work. After tuning in to National Public Radio in the early morning, Nesbitt would switch to talk radio.

“At the time, the president of Hillsdale was on G. Gordon Liddy’s show, and I thought it sounded like a pretty neat institution — very independent, free-market thinking, individualistic,” Nesbitt said. “So I wondered where the heck Hillsdale was, and they said it was in Michigan.”

When Nesbitt returned home for lunch, he pulled out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a glass of milk, and a map.

“It was just 90 miles away from our farm,” Nesbitt said. “So I always kept it in the back of my mind when I was looking at schools, and it ended up being the college I picked.”

Nesbitt majored in economics and graduated from Hillsdale in December 2001 — a semester early to “save a good $5,000 in debt.” Twenty-four years later, on Jan. 14, Nesbitt announced his candidacy for governor of Michigan.

“I think President Trump showed a pathway, along with Speaker Matt Hall last year, on how to build a coalition to win the state,” Nesbitt said. “And so I’ve brought out a ‘Michigan First’ agenda.”

That policy agenda echoes one of Trump’s national slogans while focusing on state issues. Nesbitt breaks it into three parts. He said he would “put Michigan families first” by bringing down costs and preventing “woke government.” He also promised to put “Michigan students first” by expanding school choice and put “Michigan workers first” by ending business subsidies that he calls “corporate welfare.”

“I think Michiganders expect so much better than what they‘re getting out of Lansing right now,” Nesbitt said.

Trump’s ability to reach different types of voters helps explain why he won the state in November of last year, according to Nesbitt, and why he announced his candidacy nearly two years before Michiganders head to the polls in 2026.

“If I was going to engage with the number of unique communities around the state and build a coalition, I needed to start early,” Nesbitt said.

A Trump endorsement, if he offers it, could be the golden ticket to the Republican nomination. But Nesbitt endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the presidential primary two years ago. Nesbitt said he helped campaign for the president early last year.

“I was wrong, and my wife reminds me of that a little too often,” Nesbitt said. “She’s always been a big supporter of President Trump’s, and my daughter now, after meeting him in August, reminds me that I was wrong.”

The field will likely expand as the election approaches. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cannot run for a third term. That means Nesbitt will face a non-incumbent, and a handful of other candidates have already started or revved their engines. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced an independent candidacy last month, and another Republican — former Attorney General Mike Cox — has formed a campaign committee but has not announced officially, the Detroit News reported.

Nesbitt was previously in the state House for three terms that ended in 2017 before moving to the Senate in 2019, where he is serving his second term. Between his time in the House and Senate, Nesbitt served as the state’s lottery commissioner under former Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican.

The college gave Nesbitt the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award in 2017 for his work in the state legislature on energy, tax, and telecommunications policy.

“I was very humbled by being recognized for my leadership in politics for being a conservative reformer,” Nesbitt said. “It was a great honor — not just from my alma mater, but from Hillsdale itself.”

Many of Nesbitt’s old professors still teach at the college. He said he took a class on writer J.R.R. Tolkien and an independent study on monetary history with Professor of History Brad Birzer.

“I remember Aric very well and very fondly. He was an excellent student, a brilliant and wholesome person,” Birzer said. “He was one of those students who made everyone around him better. He and I have stayed friends through social media, and I’ve been very proud to see him grow as a father and as a statesman. He would make a wonderful governor.”

Nesbitt said one of his first classes was Political Economy with Professor of Economics and Public Policy Gary Wolfram.

“I remember him holding up National Geographic books and saying that you don‘t have to live like a refugee,” Nesbitt said.

He also recalls taking classes with Professor of Politics Mickey Craig, Professor of History Dave Stewart, and Professor of Economics Ivan Pongracic.

State Rep. Jennifer Wortz, R-Quincy, told The Collegian she was excited to see Nesbitt announce his run for governor.

“It‘s great to know that someone who has a connection to Hillsdale and has a background in agriculture is running for Governor,” Wortz said.

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