Who is Aghogho Edevbie? Grassroots election official "confident" in early secretary of state bid

Michigan Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie is running to be Secretary of State in 2026.

Aghogho Edevbie. Photo: Samuel Robinson

I met up with Aghogho Edevbie Monday evening to talk about his plan to succeed his boss, Jocelyn Benson, as Michigan Secretary of State.

Michigan’s Deputy Secretary of State made public his announcement in a video to social media Monday morning, saying he will expand voter access and keep elections fair, citing his experience working under Benson and as a grassroots activist.

Edevbie, 37, was raised in a working class background by immigrant parents— his mom is a nurse and his dad is a retired Detroit water and sewage department employee. This week, he became the first candidate to file to run for Michigan Secretary of State in 2026, according to the state’s campaign finance website.

His early announcement gives him extra time to consolidate support from lawmakers and labor unions before other Democratic candidates attempt to do the same.

“I’m confident that I’m going to be the nominee, and I’m confident that when I have this, when this campaign goes forward, I can talk about who I am and what I stand for and what I want to do,” he told me. “I’m in the race regardless of what anyone else does, I don’t know what anyone else is going to do and I’m not going to speak for them.”