Governor candidate caught making up key endorsements

An independent gubernatorial candidate in Michigan is walking back a post that appeared to fabricate endorsements from labor unions that he didn't actually receive.

According to The Detroit News, the X account of Mike Duggan "specifically listed the United Auto Workers Local 412, the Teamsters, the Operating Engineers and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). '15 labor unions didn't endorse me to help one party or the other,' Duggan's account then said. 'They endorsed me because I deliver for working people.'"

However, per the report, he has not been endorsed by UAW or SEIU — and neither union has even made an endorsement yet.

"Both unions confirmed they hadn't picked a candidate still on Monday, eight months before the November general election," said the report.

Additionally, Operating Engineers Local 324 has made an endorsement, but it's not Duggan — they back Chris Swanson, the Genesee County sheriff running in the Democratic primary.

As of Monday, the post has been deleted, and campaign spokeswoman Andrea Bitely told The Detroit News it was made in error.

Duggan, the former mayor of Detroit, is running for governor of Michigan as an independent, leading political experts on both sides to speculate he could divide and spoil the two-way vote between Democrats and Republicans in the fall. While he was previously a Democrat, he has tried to court MAGA voters as an independent, triggering sharp criticism from Democrats after he refused to condemn President Donald Trump's threats to execute his political adversaries.

A similar situation four years ago gave Democrats a scare in Oregon, where conservative-leaning Democratic state Sen. Betsy Johnson ran as an independent, potentially throwing the race to Republicans, although Democratic state House Speaker Tina Kotek ultimately triumphed in the general election after Johnson pulled fewer votes than expected.